April 29, 2013
National Collegiate Championship Central
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's water polo earned the No. 2 seed at the 2013 National Collegiate Championship Monday. The Cardinal will open its quest for a third straight NCAA title Friday, May 10 against No. 7 seed Iona at 10:45 a.m. PT at Harvard University's Blodgett Pool.
Stanford (27-2), three-time NCAA champion (2002, 2011, 2012), earned one of two at-large bids into the eight-team field. The Cardinal was joined by fellow MPSF teams USC, which earned the conference's automatic bid and the field's top seed, and UCLA, which earned the second at-large bid as well as the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Rounding out the field in order of seed (4-8) are Hawai'i (Big West), UC San Diego (WWPA), Princeton (CWPA), Iona (MAAC) and Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC).
All eight teams are guaranteed to play three games at the event. Monday's announcement continues Stanford's status as the only collegiate women's water polo program to qualify for every tournament since the NCAA first sponsored a women's water polo championship in 2001. This year's event will mark the Cardinal's 14th consecutive appearance at the event.
May 10's quarterfinal against Iona will be Stanford's second postseason meeting in three years with the Gaels. At the 2011 National Collegiate Championship the Cardinal defeated the eighth-seeded Gaels 22-7 en route to the NCAA title.
Stanford turned in a runner-up finish at the MPSF Championship this past weekend in Berkeley, defeating UCLA 11-7 in the semifinal round before dropping an 11-7 decision to USC in Sunday's title game.
The Cardinal enters the National Collegiate Championship with the MPSF's top defense, allowing just 4.52 goals per game while the offense is ranked second with 13.03 goals scored per game. Senior two-meter Melissa Seidemann leads the team with 67 goals followed by freshman Maggie Steffens (54 goals), reigning Peter J. Cutino Award winner Kiley Neushul (48), freshman Anna Yelizarova (44) and junior Annika Dries (32).
In the cage, Stanford's top-rated defense is anchored by senior goalie Kate Baldoni, who boasts a goals-against average of 4.67, tops amongst No. 1 goalies in the conference.