Aug 26, 2013
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's water polo freshman Ioli Benekou helped Greece win a bronze medal at the 10th FINA World Women's Junior Championships. The tournament ran from Aug. 19-25, in Volos, Greece.
Benekou earned the start in Greece's first preliminary round game vs. Spain and scored a goal in the third quarter, which put Greece ahead, 7-4, in an 8-5 victory. In its second prelim game, Benekou was again penciled into the starting lineup and helped Greece post an 11-10 win over Canada to propel them into the quarterfinals.
After a day off, Benekou received the starting nod and Greece cruised to a 16-5 win over Great Britain to set up a semifinal date with the United States. In the semis, Benekou and Greece were upended by the Americans, 10-3, which put them in the bronze medal game.
With a medal hanging in the balance, Greece went with Benekou in the starting lineup for the fifth time in five games against a Russian outfit that fell in the semifinals to Spain. Russia scored three unanswered goals to start the game, but Greece rallied with four straight goals to take a 4-3 lead. On two different occasions, Russia leveled the score, once at 4-4 and another time at 6-6, but Greece scored with 3:46 left in the game and made its lead stand as they earned a 7-6 decision and a bronze medal.