 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 14–16, 2021 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | USC Trojans |
| Runner-up | UCLA Bruins |
| ← 20192022 → | |
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. 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
The field of teams was revealed in a selection show on May 3, 2021. 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 | |
| Cal Lutheran | SCIAC | 7–0 | Automatic | ||
| Fresno State | Golden Coast | 12–5 | Automatic | ||
| Hawaii | Big West | 11–1 | Automatic | ||
| Marist | MAAC | 8–0 | Automatic | ||
| Michigan | CWPA | 21–4 | Automatic | ||
| Salem | WWPA | 18–11 | Automatic | ||
| 2 | Stanford | MPSF | 12–5 | At-large | |
| 3 | UCLA | MPSF | 13–4 | At-large | |
| 1 | USC | MPSF | 19–1 | Automatic |
Schedule and results
All times Pacific (UTC-07:00).
| 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
| 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
Opening round
| May 12, 2021 11:00 a.m. |
Marist | 9–8 | Salem | Spieker Aquatics Center – Los 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
- "NC Women's Water Polo Championship History". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "2021 NCAA championships spring selections schedule". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- "Water Polo Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament". Arizona State University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Women's Water Polo Plays in First Round of NC Water Polo Championship". California Lutheran University. 3 May 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "No. 11 Fresno State slated to face Cal Lutheran in NCAA Tournament". Fresno State Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Wahine Given NCAA Tourney No. 6 Seed". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Marist Water Polo to Play #25 Salem in NCAA Tournament". Marist College Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Michigan Matched Up Against No. 4 Seed Arizona State in NCAA Bracket". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Salem to Face Marist in NCAA opening round". Salem University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "Back to NCAAs". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "UCLA Earns No. 3 Seed for 2021 NCAA Championship". UCLA. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "USC Women's Water Polo Takes Top Seed For 2021 NCAA Tournament". USC Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- "2021 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
| 2020–21 NCAA Division I championships | |
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| NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship | |
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| Tournaments | |