Ex-Hartwick star makes splash for Australia

Local Sports

Related Photos

CSSF3B3.jpg AP

Discussion

COMMENTING ON STORIES:

Welcome to our story comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including the unpopular ones. We only ask that you keep your conversations clean, civil and on the topic of the story you are commenting on.

Coinciding with our websites redesign, we launched our new story comments feature through Disqus.

Disqus gives users the ability to log into our story comments feature so that they may be able to track their conversations, receive emails when their comments get a reply or to even have your comments update onto your Facebook or Twitter accounts.

For the time being, our story comments feature will continue to have the ability to post comments anonymously. We reserve the right to require registration in the future using your name and verified email address.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified at the newspaper’s discretion for a number of different reasons. Please follow our Online Rules of Conduct at all times.

RULES OF CONDUCT:

We reserve the right to remove comments that are unacceptable, to wit:

1. False and inacurate statements.
2. Personal attacks. Explicit name-calling.
3. Harassing, harmful, vulgar, obscene and defamatory language.
4. Threatening statements or statements that suggest violence.
5. Hate speech of any kind.
6. Intolerant comments on religion, race, age, gender, sexual preference or disabilities.
7. Accusations of criminal activity.
8. Content that is harmful to children and minors in any way.
9. References to any type of sexual activity and other private matters.
10. Random and inflammatory statements that are off topic.
11. Advertising of any kind.
12. Typing in all caps.

WE ENCOURAGE REASONABLE AND COURTEOUS COMMENTS THAT:

1. Create conversation on issues of interest and concern to fellow readers and local community members.
2. Express opinions and contrarian views.
3. Stimulate debate with respectful language.
4. Stay within the boundaries of these rules.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE ACCESS FOR:

1. Violating any of these Online Rules of Conduct.
2. Deliberately disrupting discussions with repetitive messages, meaningless messages or spam.
3. Misrepresentation of identity or impersonating another user.

WE WELCOME:

1. Flagging violations of these rules that you observe to our attention.

MONITORING:

We monitor comments regularly Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Approval of comments outside of this time (including weekends) will be sporadic.

comments powered by Disqus

July 31, 2012

Ex-Hartwick star makes splash for Australia

Anonymous STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS The Daily Star Tue Jul 31, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) -- Bronwen Knox, one of three former Hartwick College water polo players in the 2012 Olympics, scored one goal and had an assist Monday to help Australia to a 10-8 victory over Italy during the opening day of the women's tournament.

Knox is in search of her second Olympic medal. She scored 12 goals for Australia as it won a bronze medal in the 2008 Games. Knox's 12 goals in 2008 were tied for third most that year.

A 26-year-old from Brisbane, Knox attempted two shots Monday. She also had one steal.

Sophie Smith, a teammate of Knox's at Hartwick in 2005, also plays for Australia. Smith, 26, took two shots against Italy but failed to score.

Lisa Gibson, a member of the Hawks in 2008, plays for the host country, which made its Olympic water polo debut Monday with a 7-6 loss to Russia. Gibson, 22, took one shot but did not score.

It's possible all three former Hartwick standouts could be in the pool together Wednesday, when Australia faces England at 2:40 p.m. in a Group B game.

Knox played for Hartwick in 2005 and 2006, earning Second Team All-America honors after scoring an NCAA-best 127 goals in her sophomore season.

Smith spent one season at Hartwick and had a team-leading 84 steals in 2005.

Gibson also played one season for the Hawks. She had 21 goals and six assists in 2008.

The United States followed a seven-goal game from 19-year-old Maggie Steffens to beat Hungary, 14-13, in its opener.

"It's awesome. My heartbeat is still pounding. I'm walking through here and just kind of taking a deep breath and letting it sink in," Steffens said. "There is so much energy running through me, I don't really remember what happened in the first few minutes."

Catching the ball on the deep on the left side with less than a minute gone in the first quarter, Steffens lobbed the ball over Hungary goalkeeper Flora Bolonyai to score her first goal of the night. She followed it up with a clinic of outside shooting, driving shots -- one after another -- past Hungary defenders and slotting them just inside the post.

Steffens wasn't the only one to shine in her Olympic debut though. Courtney Mathewson contributed four goals for the Americans, including the final one, to give the U.S. the two-goal cushion it would need to hold on.

The win puts the U.S. even with Spain, winners earlier Monday over China, atop Group A.

The U.S. has finished on the podium at every Olympics since the women's game debuted in 2000, taking home a bronze in 2004 and silver in 2000 and 2008. With seven players back from the Beijing squad, the Americans are the gold medal favorite in London along with Australia.

But if Monday's performance is any indication, the lack of experience on the sport's grandest stage among the team's younger players doesn't appear to be much of a problem.

Steffens' seven goals -- six of which came in the first half -- caused jaws to drop at the packed water polo arena at London's Olympic Park.

"She's a stud, I mean come on, seven goals?" said U.S. captain Brenda Villa, who is in her fourth Olympics and is a prolific scorer. "She's a youngster, but you could never tell in the water. She plays like she's been playing at this level for a long time."

Those who have known Steffens the longest -- such as Olympic teammate, roommate and older sister Jessica Steffens -- weren't taken off guard.

"Surprised? No," Jessica said. "She has so much potential in her and I think she's been waiting to bust out of her skin. Was I happy? Yes. Was I surprised that they didn't want to stop her? Yes. But if she's going to keep scoring goals, we're absolutely going to let her."

The younger Steffens, who was in Beijing to watch Jessica and the rest of the U.S. team earn silver four years ago, graduated from high school in California in 2011, and postponed going to Stanford by a year in order to train for the Olympics.

"This is more important," she said with a laugh. "Stanford can wait for the possibility of a medal."

The Americans' main rivals for gold in London are the Australians, who broke open a tight game with four unanswered goals in the second half.

Captain Kate Gynther scored three goals and Nicola Zagame chipped in with two for Australia.

"An Olympic game is always going to be hard, and Italy are a quality opposition, so it was a very tough game and we're just happy to come out on top," Gynther said.

Tania di Mario and Federica Radicchi scored twice for the 2012 European champion Italians.

Both countries are past Olympic champions in women's water polo -- Australia won gold in 2000 when the women's game made its Olympic debut. Italy earned the title four years later in Athens.

Joining Australia at the top of Group B is Russia.

The eight-team field is broken down into two groups of four. The results from the preliminary stage determine the seeding for the quarterfinals.