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ROME, Italy, July 23. WATER polo action kept on rolling at the FINA World Championships as day five featured more preliminary competition in the women's draw.
Australia opened the day with a 14-4 smashing of neighboring New Zealand. Rebecca Rippon, Brionwen Knox and Rowena Webster each notched a hat trick as Australia went 14-for-31. Kristen Hudson shouldered the offense for New Zealand with three of its goals. The squad went 4-for-21.
Canada enjoyed a 20-5 thumping of South Africa in its match. Whitney Genoway accounted for six goals, while Krystina Alogbo and Christine Robinson each accounted for a hat trick. Canada converted 20 of its 38 shots for a 52.6 percent success rate. Tammy Heydenrych led the way for South Africa with two goals as the team went 5-for-20.
The Netherlands edged Germany, 8-6. Iefke van Belkum tallied four goals for the Dutch as the team went 8-for-28 from the field. Claudia Kern and Mandy Zollner touched the back of the net twice each for Germany, which went 6-for-29.
Spain doubled up Brazil, 12-6. Bianca Gil and Jennifer Pareja each tallied a hat trick for Spain, which went 12-for-31. Melina Teno notched a hat trick of her own as Brazil went 6-for-24.
Hungary crushed Uzbekistan, 18-5. Fruzsina Bravik collected four goals, while Rita Dravucz and Aniko Pelle each scored three goals. Hungary converted 18 of 32 shots for a 56.3 percent success rate. Viktoriya Gorodchanina and Natalya Plyusova each scored two goals for Uzbekistan, which went 5-for-22.
Russia demolished Kazakhstan, 23-4. Sofya Konukh and Olga Belyaeva each tallied four goals, while Evgenia Soboleva and Yulia Gaufler also earned hat tricks for Russia. The team went 23-for-42 from the field for a 54.8 percent success rate. Marina Gritsenko scored half of Kazakhstan's goals, which went 4-for-16.
The U.S. downed Greece, 12-8. Kelly Rulon and Alison Gregorka paced the Americans with three goals each. The U.S. connected on 12 of 25 shots. Alexandra Asimaki and Angeliki Gerolimou both accounted for two goals as Greece went 8-for-31.
Italy finished the day of competition with an 11-10 victory over China. Elisa Casanova led the way with three goals as Italy connected on 11 of 27 shots. Sun Yating tallied a hat trick for China, which went 10-for-32.