U.S. Team Beats Stanford, 8-4, to Win Water Polo Tournament

The U.S. National team defeated Stanford, 8-4, to win the 19th Annual UC Irvine Water Polo Tournament at Irvine’s Heritage Park on Sunday.

Former Anteater John Vargas scored two goals for the U.S. in the championship match against the Cardinal. The U.S. broke open a close game by outscoring Stanford, 4-1, in the second half.

David Imbernino scored twice to lead the Cardinal, which is the nation’s top-ranked college water polo team.

In the third-place match, Brett Del Valle scored in the final minute to give sixth-ranked UCI an 8-7 victory over No. 2 UCLA. Tony Bell had three goals for the Anteaters. Del Valle scored twice.

Monty Yort and Jeff Chase each had two goals for the Bruins.

The U.S. team finished the tournament with a 6-0 record. Stanford was 5-1 and UCI and UCLA were 4-2. Cal State Fullerton finished last in the 15-team tournament with an 0-5 mark.