HONOLULU - Iefke Van Belkum and Meike De Nooy, two women's water polo players with ties to the University of Hawai`i, are making their reservations for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, as their host country, The Netherlands, captured the European Olympic Qualification Tournament to gain an automatic berth.

The Netherlands punched their ticket to the Olympics with a thrilling 13-12 overtime victory over host Russia.

Van Belkum, who finished the tournament third in scoring with 16 goals, found the back of the net only once in the match as her golden goal came in overtime providing the Dutch with the margin of victory. Van Belkum played her freshman and sophomore seasons (2005-06) and has two years of eligibility remaining once the Olympics are completed. De Nooy, who was in goal for the Dutch during the match, finished her eligibility this past spring for head coach Michel Roy.

Italy finished third with an 8-6 win over Spain while Hungary and Greece placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Those teams now participate in the Intercontinental Qualification Tournament in Trieste, Italy - the final selection stage for the 2008 Olympics - determining the last three slots from Europe. Other countries that participated in the tournament were the Czech Republic, Germany and Ukraine.

Former water polo standout, Monica Kruszona, participated for Germany's national team, but the Germans did not advance to the qualifying round.