RIO de JANIERO – The United States men's water polo team, represented by four current and former Stanford men's water polo players, completed competition at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Led by Team USA captain Tony Azevedo '04, the Cardinal contingent in Rio included Alex Bowen '15, Bret Bonanni '16 and Ben Hallock '20.
With a 2-3 record, Team USA did not advance out of group play during the first week of the Olympics. The United States opened with a 7-5 defeat to Croatia, before dropping a 10-9 decision to Spain in its second contest. The team rebounded with a 7-3 victory over France, before splitting its final two games of group play (8-5 setback to Montenegro and 10-7 win over Italy).
Bonanni, who completed his Stanford career last fall as the Cardinal and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's all-time scoring leader with 360 career goals, led Team USA in scoring during his first Olympics. He scored in four of the five games, totaling eight goals overall.
Azevedo, who was voted the Pac-12 Men's Water Polo Player of the Century last fall after totaling 332 goals in his Stanford career, played in his fifth Olympics in 2016. Team USA's captain totaled five goals in Rio, with scores in three contests.
Bowen, who graduated Stanford as the program's third all-time leading scorer with 253 goals, recorded four scores in Rio, including three goals against Spain.
Hallock, who will begin his freshman year at Stanford this fall, played in all five of Team USA's matches in the Olympics, recording an assist in the final match against Italy. He also recorded a pair of steals and a pair of blocks in his first Olympics.
The four Stanford representatives on the 2016 United States Men's Water Polo Olympic Team, marked the third consecutive and fifth time overall the Cardinal had at least four members on Team USA. The 1932 Los Angles Olympic Games featured five Stanford players.