Nov. 25, 2001
Berkeley, Ca - The top-ranked Stanford water polo team defeated California, 7-5, to claim the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament Championship on Sunday's at Cal's Spieker Pool. The Cardinal receives the automatic berth to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship Dec. 1-2 at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center.
Tony Azevedo's penalty shot in the closing seconds iced the game for the Cardinal. Azevedo scored three times.
With Stanford leading 2-1 at halftime, the Cardinal outscored the Golden Bears, 3-1, in the third period. But Cal fought back and with 21 seconds remaining in the game, Spencer Dornin scored to cut the deficit to a single goal, 6-5. Attempting to retrieve the ball, Golden Bear head coach Peter Asch sent an extra man into the pool with eight seconds remaining, drawing a four-meter penalty shot. Azevedo tossed the ball into the net, giving the Cardinal the two point win.
Nick Ellis collected five saves for Stanford.
Stanford (20-1)1132=7
California (15-7)1013=5
Stanford scorers: Azevedo 3, Darrow 1, Koelman 1, Nesmith 1, Hudnut 1
California scorers: Dornin 3, Banhidy 1, Lathrop 1
Goalie saves: Ellis (S) 5, Bernstein (C) 10
Sunday's Results - MPSF Tournament 1st place - Stanford 7, California 5 3rd place - UCLA 7, Long Beach State 5 5th place - USC 10, Pepperdine 6 7th place - UC Santa Barbara 5, UC Irvine 4