Dec. 8, 2002
Stanford (24-5) won its tenth NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship this afternoon as the Cardinal defeated California (20-7) 7-6 at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Complex on the campus of Loyola Marymount.
Senior Peter Hudnut tallied the first two goals to give Stanford the 2-0 lead, but the Golden Bears tacked on one in the first quarter to cut the margin to one. In the second period, Stanford sophomore and NCAA Tournament MVP Tony Azevedo scored three goals while freshman Thomas Hopkins added one while Cal notched three to bring the halftime score to 6-4 in favor of the Cardinal.
Both teams were unable to convert any shots during the third quarter, so the Golden Bears started the final seven minutes trailing by two goals. With 4:42 Azevedo scored his 95th goal of the season to extend the Stanford lead to three, but Cal fought back, scoring on a man-up goal and then on a quick foul shot to bring them within one with 1:46 to go. Stanford tightened on defense and closed out the game to take the 7-6 win and claim its first NCAA Championship under first-year head coach John Vargas.
"[Tony] is a winner," said Vargas after the game. "He's won at every level and he's going to continue winning at every level. He's a great teammate and he does a wonderful job."
"I don't think any senior could ask for more," commented Hudnut. "A bunch of us were talking about how great it would be before the game, and everyone came out today. Everyone was on the same page, and it does not get greater than this."
"What really sparked me," said Azevedo, "was Peter scoring the first two goals. Playing with Peter and Jeff Nesmith all my life, I wanted nothing more than to send these guys out with a win."
Azevedo was one of three Cardinal selected to the first-team All-Tournament squad. Joining Azevedo was Peter Hudnut (Stanford), Nick Ellis (Stanford), Attila Banhidy (Cal), Adnrew Stoddard (Cal), Chris Lathrop (Cal) and Michel Vieira (Queens). The second team selections were Mike Derse (Stanford), Jeff Nesmith (Stanford), Will Quist (Cal), Greg Panawek (Cal), Matt Ellis (UCSD), Jonathan Hopkins (UCSD), John Prokhin (Queens) and Russell Bernstein (Cal).
Game Summary
NCAA Championship
| Team | 1 2 1 | 2 | 3 0 0 | 4 1 2 | Total 7 6 |
Stanford scoring: Tony Azevedo 4, Peter Hudnut 2, Thomas Hopkins 1.
California scoring: Will Quist 3, Andrew Stoaddard 1, Greg Panawek 1, Attilla Banhidy 1.
Goalie Saves: Lance Ellis (Stan) 7, Russell Bernstein (Cal) 6.
6-on-5: Stanford 3-6, California 3-8.
Attendance: 2,600.