2021 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship

2021 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
Tournament details
DatesMay 14–16, 2021
Teams10
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The 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 19th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo.[1] The tournament was held May 14–16, 2021, at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Qualifying teams[edit]

The field of teams was revealed in a selection show on May 3, 2021.[2] Seven conferences were granted automatic qualification to the championship: the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Western Water Polo Association. Three additional teams gained entry into the tournament with at-large bids, with all of them coming from the MPSF.

Seed School Conference Record Berth Source
4 Arizona State MPSF 13–11 At-large [3]
Cal Lutheran SCIAC 7–0 Automatic [4]
Fresno State Golden Coast 12–5 Automatic [5]
Hawaii Big West 11–1 Automatic [6]
Marist MAAC 8–0 Automatic [7]
Michigan CWPA 21–4 Automatic [8]
Salem WWPA 18–11 Automatic [9]
2 Stanford MPSF 12–5 At-large [10]
3 UCLA MPSF 13–4 At-large [11]
1 USC MPSF 19–1 Automatic [12]

Schedule and results[edit]

All times Pacific (UTC-07:00).[13]

Game Time Matchup Score TV Attendance
First Round – Wednesday, May 12
1 11:00 a.m. Marist vs. Salem 9–8 P12+ UCLA
2 1:00 p.m. Fresno State vs. Cal Lutheran 15–7
Quarterfinals – Friday, May 14
3 12:00 p.m. No. 1 USC vs. Marist 24–5 NCAA.com
4 2:00 p.m. No. 4 Arizona State vs. Michigan 9–5
5 4:00 p.m. No. 2 Stanford vs. Fresno State 16–9
6 6:00 p.m. No. 3 UCLA vs. Hawaii 12–7
Semifinals – Saturday, May 15
7 3:00 p.m. No. 1 USC vs. No. 4 Arizona State 10–4 NCAA.com
8 5:00 p.m. No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 UCLA 7–9
Championship – Sunday, May 16
9 3:00 p.m. No. 1 USC vs. No. 3 UCLA 18-9 NCAA.com

Tournament bracket[edit]

Play–in games
Tuesday, May 12, 2021
Quarterfinals
Friday, May 14, 2021
Semifinals
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Championship
Sunday, May 16, 2021
1 USC 24
Marist 9 Marist 5
Salem 8 1 USC 10
4 Arizona State 4
4 Arizona State 9
Michigan 5
1 USC 18
3 UCLA 9
2 Stanford 16
Fresno State 15 Fresno State 9
Cal Lutheran 7 2 Stanford 7
3 UCLA 9
3 UCLA 12
Hawaii 7

Game summaries[edit]

Opening round[edit]

May 12, 2021
11:00 a.m.
Marist 9–8 Salem Spieker Aquatics CenterLos Angeles, California
Referees:
Gary Hull, Peter Sophabmixay
Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–3, 3–1, 3–2
May 12, 2021
1:00 p.m.
Fresno State 15–7 Cal Lutheran Spieker Aquatics Center – Los Angeles, California
Referees:
Mike Stuart, Jennifer McCall
Score by quarters: 4–1, 1–2, 4–2, 6–2

References[edit]

  1. ^ "NC Women's Water Polo Championship History". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "2021 NCAA championships spring selections schedule". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Water Polo Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament". Arizona State University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Women's Water Polo Plays in First Round of NC Water Polo Championship". California Lutheran University. 3 May 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "No. 11 Fresno State slated to face Cal Lutheran in NCAA Tournament". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "Wahine Given NCAA Tourney No. 6 Seed". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "Marist Water Polo to Play #25 Salem in NCAA Tournament". Marist College Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Michigan Matched Up Against No. 4 Seed Arizona State in NCAA Bracket". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  9. ^ "Salem to Face Marist in NCAA opening round". Salem University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Back to NCAAs". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  11. ^ "UCLA Earns No. 3 Seed for 2021 NCAA Championship". UCLA. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "USC Women's Water Polo Takes Top Seed For 2021 NCAA Tournament". USC Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "2021 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 6, 2021.