Alfred Reft, a former University of Hawai'i player, started at libero for the Americans, who will face Italy in Saturday's bronze-medal match.

Japan beat the U.S., 9-1, in softball today, ending the Americans' chances of winning a medal at the World University Games.

Kalaheo graduate Jessika Ngirblekuu, who played at Palm Beach (Fla.) Community College, started in left field for the U.S.

Canada will play in the softball gold medal final tomorrow against the winner between Taiwan and Japan.

Elsewhere at the Games today, Chinese diver Zhang Xinhua won the men's 1-meter springboard and the Ukraine took the men's team sabre gold in fencing.

China swept all the table tennis singles golds — four Chinese players contested the men's and women's gold finals.

The wins helped China pass Russia in the gold medal count for the first time in the Games, which end Saturday. China has 27, Russia 26.

Hometown favorite Danai Udomchoke gave Bangkok's new — and sweltering — National Tennis Stadium a fitting opening by winning gold.

Danai, who had dropped only 11 games in five matches going into the final — six of those in the semifinal — had his hands full with South Korean An Jae-sung before prevailing 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6).

Both players required medical timeouts in the third set as Danai came from 5-2 down to force a tiebreaker in which he again had to rally from a three-point deficit to win a match that went more than 2½ hours.

"The crowd is what made me win," Danai said. "The first set, I put so much pressure on myself, I made too many errors. But I've never seen him (An) play tennis this great."