BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The duo of Fordham University rising sophomore Andras Toth (Pecs, Hungary/PTE Babits Gyakorlo Gimnazium) and Princeton rising sophomore Ádám Peocz (Fr., Budapest, Hungary) helped Hungary hamper Croatia, 15-11, on Monday, June 16, to finish 3-0 in Group A, while Princeton rising sophomore Gavin Appeldorn (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor), United States Naval Academy rising junior Kiefer Black (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) and Brown University men’s water polo head coach/Director of Water Polo Felix Mercado assisted the United States in managing Montenegro, 16-10, to claim Third Place in Group A at the World Aquatics Men’s U20 Water Polo Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.
Due to their placement, Hungary advances to a tournament quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, June 19, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern against an opponent to be determined. The United States returns to the water on Wednesday, June 18, in a crossover game versus another opponent to be determined.
Box scores of each game during the championship are available by CLICKING HERE.
For the Americans, Appeldorn played 11:33, while Black swished one-of-two shots (one-for-one man-up/zero-for-one penalty shot) in 10:50 as Team USA picked up its inaugural win at the event following losses to Croatia (19-10 L, June 14) and Hungary (13-12 L, June 15). Mercado is serving as an assistant coach for Team USA during the weekend.
For Hungary – which previously dispatched Montenegro (18-10 W, June 14) and the United States (13-12 W, June 15) – Peocz shot zero-for-two (zero-for-one action shots/zero-for-one man-up) with an assist, two steals and a field block in 18:14 to assist Hungary in cracking Croatia. Toth shot zero-for-two (zero-for-two center shots) and field-blocked a shot in 14:48 as the Hungarians wrapped up a 3-0 mark in Group A.
Peocz is shooting two-for-six with a pairs of steals and assists to accompany a field block for his homeland through three games, while Toth has converted four-of-nine shots with a pair of field blocks and a steal to date.
