U.S. men’s national team wins gold, qualifies for 2004 Olympics

A 52-day road trip that included stops in Hungary, Italy, Croatia,

Spain and the Dominican Republic ended Sunday for five former UC

Irvine water polo standouts.

It finished on the highest note possible as Ryan Bailey, Omar Amr,

Jeff Powers, Dan Klatt and Genai Kerr earned gold medals and an

automatic berth in the 2004 Olympic Games as the U.S. men’s national

water polo team defeated Brazil 13-7 in the championship match of the

2003 Pan American Games at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympics Aquatics

Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

After finishing sixth at the World Championships in Spain in late

July, the U.S. rolled through the Pan Am Games, knowing that a gold

medal meant automatic qualification for the Olympic Games next summer

in Athens, Greece.

The U.S. outscored its Pam Am Games foes 144-33. The +111 goal

differential was nine more goals than second-place Brazil scored in

the entire tournament.

Bailey, Amr, Powers and Klatt all played significant roles in the

field, while Kerr served as the backup goalie, which included making

two saves in the gold-medal game.

Powers scored three goals in the defeat of Brazil, Bailey added

two scores and Amr contributed with one.

Powers’ first goal came on a cross-cage skip in the first quarter

that gave the U.S. a 4-2 lead.

Amr pushed that advantage to 7-2 with 4:47 remaining in the second

quarter with his only goal of the match.

Bailey and Powers both scored in the third quarter, giving the

U.S. a seven-goal advantage, 11-4.

Both players also added fourth-quarter goals, with Bailey’s score

with three minutes remaining in the match, effectively icing the

Americans’ trip to Greece by pushing the lead to 12-6.

The U.S. defeated Puerto Rico 16-7 in Saturday’s semifinals match.

Powers and Klatt each scored twice, including early goals that

gave the U.S. a quick 3-0 lead. Amr and Bailey added a goal each,

while Kerr made three saves in goal.