BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)/Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)/Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC)/National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) official Joe Peila joined Spiros Achladiotis of Greece in calling the 2023 FISU World University Games men’s water polo championship game on August 8 in Chengdu, China on July 28-August 8. Italy captured the Gold Medal by surviving a comeback bid by Hungary to capture a 13-11 victory.
Peila – who called both women’s and men’s water polo action during the international championship tournament on July 28-August 8 – officiated a game in which Italy jumped out to a 6-3 first quarter lead and built its margin to 11-5 by halftime. Following a 2-1 scoring advantage to pull ahead 13-6 entering the fourth quarter, Italy needed to survive an offensive onslaught by the Hungarians who connected for three man-up tallies, an strike off an action shot and a penalty shot to shrink the final margin to 13-11.
The 2023 FISU World University Games were postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 games were slated to be in Yekaterinburg, Russia, but were moved back to Chengdu in 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Complete results of the competition are available online by CLICKING HERE.
