“There were lots and lots of nerves,” said Olympic newcomer Stephania Haralabidis after her USA Women’s National Water Polo Team set a short-lived Olympic record, defeating hosts Japan 25-4 on Saturday in their Tokyo opener. The 11-point margin of victory stood as the greatest ever in a women’s Olympic water polo match for a grand total of five hours, after which Spain took down South Africa by a gaudy 29-4 score.
Haralabidis and Maggie Steffens finished with five goals each, two of four players with four or more goals. Only Jamie Neushul and Alys Williams went scoreless in the balanced attack.
[Full game replay of USA vs. Japan women’s water polo on NBCOlympics.com]
The Americans next face China, which fell 17-18 to the team from Russia in their opener, on Monday.
