ORADEA, Romania - Pepperdine water polo freshman Csanád Bella has made his mark early at the European U18 Championships in Romania this week, representing Hungary.

Bella has helped Hungary to a pair of victories over the Netherlands and Greece in the first two games of pool play with six total goals to help ensure a quarterfinal berth later this week.

In the opening game of the tournament versus the Dutch on Monday, Bella scored three times as the Hungarians led wire-to-wire in an eventual 15-11 victory.

Returning for the second match of group play on Tuesday against Greece, Bella once again notched a hat trick to help push Hungary to a 19-13 victory.

Hungary will return for its final group play contest tomorrow with a matchup against Italy at 10:30 a.m. PT. The tournament will then move to the knockout stages with the Championship match set for Sunday, August 24.

Bella's six goals through two games ranks second on the team as Hungary is one of five nations to remain undefeated through two games of group play along with France, Malta, Italy and Montenegro.

Bella is no stranger to seeing success at the national level, having won the 2024 U18 World Championship in Buenos Aires this past year. 

At the club level, Bella was a two-time U17 & U19 Hungarian champion while winning a pair of U23 Béla Komjádi CUPs throughout his club career with Asi and Ferencváros. He also recently won the Hungarian Division I National Championship with Ferencvàros.

For the full tournament schedule and results, visit here.

Bella and the Waves will begin the season at the Triton Invite hosted by UC San Diego, with the Waves opening the season on Saturday, August 30th with neutral-site fixtures with Navy and Pomona-Pitzer.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE WATER POLO
Pepperdine water polo has seen success spanning decades under Terry Schroeder who gave the reins to Merrill Moses following the 2023 season. Highlighted by its national championship in 1997 with Moses as the starting goalie, the Waves have reached the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions and recently won the inaugural WCC Regular Season Championship in 2023. Overall, the program has seen 60 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 36 of 50 seasons.

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