BERKELEY – Three Golden Bears will compete in the 33^rd LEN European Women's Water Polo Championships in Barcelona, which commences Saturday and runs through July 27.

Recently graduated Anna Illes will represent Hungary, while rising sophomores Kitty Lynn Joustra (The Netherlands) and Elli Protopapas (Greece) will also compete in the games.

Hungary is the defending champion after winning the title in 2016, a victory that gave the Hungarians an automatic berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics. Both Illes and recently graduated All-American Dora Antal played on that team.

Hungary beat The Netherlands in the 2016 European finals. Joustra wasn't yet a member of the Dutch National Team at that time.

The Netherlands and Greece are both in Group A and will face each other on July 21 in the final match of pool play. Hungary is in Group B.

Hungary's first group play game Saturday is against Spain, Greece takes on France while The Netherlands meets Croatia. Each country plays five group play matches before the quarterfinals commence on July 23.

All three student-athletes played a big part in Cal's successful 2018 season, which saw the Bears advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships and finish the year ranked No. 3 in the nation. Illes became a four-time All-American after being named to the Second Team while Joustra earned All-American Honorable Mention. Both Joustra and Protopapas were named to the MPSF All-Freshman Team.