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John P. Lozano/isiphotos.com
Women's Water Polo

In Search of No. 7

2019 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship
Avery Aquatic Center • Stanford, Calif.
Quarterfinals • Friday, May 10 vs. Pacific • 3:30 p.m.
Semifinals • Saturday, May 11 • 5 p.m.
Championship • Sunday, May 12 • 3 p.m.
Tournament Central
Live Stream • NCAA.com
Live StatsThe FOSH
Tickets
Statistics

WHAT'S AHEAD?: No. 2 Stanford (20-2) goes in search of its seventh NCAA crown when it hosts the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship Friday, May 10 - Sunday, May 12 at Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal begins with No. 8 Pacific (18-8) at 3:30 p.m. PT on Friday with the winner advancing to play either No. 3 UCLA or No. 6 Michigan in the semifinals on Saturday, May 11 at 5 p.m. PT. The championship is on Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m. PT. All games will be streamed via on ncaa.com/live with Greg Mescall handling the call.
 
PARKING: Parking is free each day of the tournament (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) in the Varsity Lot adjacent to Avery Aquatic Center, Sunken Diamond and Stanford Stadium.

NCAA HISTORY: Stanford has won six NCAA titles (2002, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and five of the last eight. The Cardinal, which has been in every national final since 2010, has been runner-up an additional eight times (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018) and is the only team to appear in all 19 NCAA Championships since its inception in 2001. Stanford has never finished lower than third at the event while racking up a record of 38-12 and is 8-2 against the NCAA field this season (1-2 vs. USC, 2-0 vs. UCLA, 3-0 vs. Cal, 1-0 vs. Michigan, 1-0 vs. Pacific).
 
STANFORD'S NCAA TITLES: Women's water polo is responsible for six of Stanford's 120 NCAA championships, a total which is three ahead of UCLA for the most all-time. Stanford has won 145 national team titles overall. The Cardinal has already won three NCAA titles this year in women's volleyball, women's swimming and diving and men's gymnastics. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team title for 43 consecutive academic years.
 
MPSF TOURNAMENT: The Cardinal earned an at-large berth into the field following its second-place finish at the MPSF Tournament, which was also at Stanford. A runner-up MPSF Tournament finish isn't an indicator of NCAA success, at least for the Cardinal. Despite winning five of the past eight national championships, 2014 was the only season in the past 13 in which Stanford won a conference crown.
 
HOST WITH THE MOST: Stanford is hosting the 2019 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship for a record fifth time (2001, 2004, 2008, 2015). Four years ago, the Cardinal became the first host institution to win a national championship in its home pool when it beat UCLA, 7-6, on a successful five-meter penalty from Kiley Neushul with 11 seconds remaining.
 
AT AVERY: Stanford is 108-10 at home since 2008 and 10-1 this season.
 
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE: Stanford swept the MPSF's major postseason awards when the conference announced its 2019 honorees. Makenzie Fischer was voted the league's player of the year, Ryann Neushul its newcomer of the year and John Tanner its coach of the year. Stanford, which now boasts seven player of the year, seven newcomer of the year and six coach of the year awardees, had never before won all three in the same season. Fischer and Neushul headlined the list of  five Cardinal to earn All-MPSF recognition. Fischer was joined on the All-MPSF first team by her younger sister, sophomore Aria Fischer. Kat Klass was an All-MPSF second team selection, while goalkeeper Emalia Eichelberger received All-MPSF honorable mention accolades along with Neushul, who also landed on the MPSF All-Newcomer team.
 
FANTASTIC FISCHER: Makenzie Fischer is putting together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in MPSF history, averaging 3.71 goals per game. In the past 15 years, only two MPSF players have averaged more than 3.00 goals per game: USC's Monica Vavic in 2015 (3.33) and Pacific's Sarah Harris in 2007 (3.64). Fischer is sixth on Stanford's all-time scoring list with 199 career goals in just 71 games (2.80 goals per game). Ellen Estes (1997-98, 2001-02) is next on the list with 214. The junior's 78 goals this season are second in school history behind Estes' 93 in 1998.
 
SEEING THE STATS: Stanford tops the MPSF in goals per game (16.09), ahead of USC (13.81), and is second in goals allowed per game (6.50), trailing the Trojans (4.33). Individually, Makenzie Fischer leads the league in goals per game (3.71) and Aria Fischer is seventh (2.19). Sarah Klass is ninth (1.86), Kat Klass is 12th (1.57), Ryann Neushul is 15th (1.45), Madison Berggren is 16th (1.44) and Madison Stamen 18th (1.38). Emalia Eichelberger's 7.40 goals against average is fourth in the conference and her 9.12 saves per game are third. Thea Walsh is second in goals against average (5.08) and eighth in saves per game (6.20).
 
CARDINAL TO CHINA: No strangers to representing Stanford on a global stage, the Cardinal women's water polo program announced a summer trip to China on March 22 for two weeks of sports diplomacy - water polo, student exchanges and exploration. Running from June 23 – July 8, the Cardinal will start and end the trip training with and competing against the Chinese National Team. In between, the team will tour sites in an around Chengdu, where they are being hosted by China's Water Polo Federation, and also visit the Tibetan Plateau of Western Sichuan province. Stanford's preparations for the trip began in earnest weeks ago with the formation of a robust seminar series covering Chinese history, culture and language, Sino-American relations, development economics examining health and education in rural China, entrepreneurship and diplomacy.
 
USA WATER POLO HALL OF FAME: Jessica Steffens, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time, first-team All-American at Stanford, and Dunlevie Family Director of Women's Water Polo John Tanner will be part of USA Water Polo's 2019 Hall of Fame Class. Steffens was a 2010 Peter J. Cutino Award finalist, a first-team All-American for the Cardinal in 2009 and 2010 and a three-time academic All-American. In his 22nd season at Stanford, John Tanner took the reins of the developing women's water polo program in 1998 and has turned it into a powerhouse. A five-time national coach of the year who holds a 542-79 (.873) career record at Stanford, Tanner has tutored nine ACWPC Players of the Year, seven Peter J. Cutino award winners and 112 ACWPC All-America selections.