U.S. finishes sixth at championships

The U.S. men’s national water polo team settled for a sixth-place

finish at the 2003 World Championships after a 9-7 loss to Spain in

Barcelona, Spain on Saturday.

Two-time defending champion Spain outscored the U.S. team, 3-1,

after a 6-6 tie midway through the third period. Still, it was the

best finish for the Americans since a fourth-place showing at the

1990 World Championships in Perth, Australia. The U.S. team had

finished seventh at the last two World Championships.

Spain shot out to a 3-1 lead, but the Americans answered as former

UC Irvine standout Jeff Powers scored and so did Jesse Smith. The

U.S. went up, 5-4, after another goal from Smith, but Spain came back

again to gain a 6-5 lead.

Dan Klatt, also out of UCI, added a goal for the Americans to

bring the score to 6-6. But then Spain outscored USA, 3-1.

Hungary won the World Championships after an 11-9 victory over Italy.