Stanford (23-2, 6-0 MPSF)
2019 NCAA Champions
Statistics
NCAA CHAMPIONSStanford won its record-tying seventh NCAA women's water polo championship with a dramatic 9-8 victory over top-seeded USC at Avery Aquatic Center on May 12. Two weeks after losing to the Trojans by the same score in sudden death of the MPSF Tournament championship, the Cardinal held USC without a goal over the game's final 11 minutes to win its fourth national crown in six seasons. Makenzie Fischer scored three goals and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and freshman Ryann Neushul fired in the game winner from five meters midway through the fourth quarter. The Cardinal's 10th consecutive title-game appearance was the fifth in a row decided by a single goal.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES• Stanford's seventh NCAA title tied UCLA for the most in the nation. The Cardinal also won it all in 2002, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
• Over the last decade, women's water polo has won more NCAA titles (6) than any other program on The Farm.
• Head coach John Tanner (seven NCAA titles) trails only Lele Forood (10 NCAA titles with women's tennis) among active Stanford head coaches in championships.
• The Cardinal's women's water polo titles was one of six NCAA championships for the department in 2018-19 (women's volleyball, women's swimming and diving, men's gymnastics, women's tennis, men's golf).
FISCHER WINS CUTINO AWARDMakenzie Fischer was named the recipient of the 2019 Peter J. Cutino Award at The Olympic Club on June 1. The award, given to the outstanding collegiate water polo player in the United States as voted by Division I coaches, has been won by a Cardinal in six of the last nine years. Fischer is the sixth Stanford woman to win the prestigious honor, which was instituted in 1999, joining Kiley Neushul (2015, 2012), Annika Dries (2014, 2011), Melissa Seidemann (2013), Jackie Frank (2003) and Brenda Villa (2002). The Cardinal's Ben Hallock collected the award on the men's side. It's the fifth time one school has swept both women's and men's Cutino Awards and the third time Stanford has done it. Brenda Villa and Tony Azevedo were the honorees in 2002 and Jackie Frank and Azevedo the following year.
MAJOR AWARDS SWEEPMakenzie Fischer was named ACWPC Player of the Year and John Tanner collected his sixth ACWPC Coach of the Year honor in 2019. The Cardinal has boasted the country's national player of the year at the conclusion of seven of the past nine seasons. Maggie Steffens won in 2015 and 2017, Annika Dries did so in 2011 and 2014, Kiley Neushul claimed the award in 2012 and Melissa Seidemann was the top vote-getter in 2013. Brenda Villa was Stanford's first winner in 2001. Jackie Frank followed by nabbing the honor in both 2002 and 2003. Stanford has swept both coach and player of the year accolades in each season of a championship during its recent title run. Tanner previously was tabbed as the best at his craft in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
ALL-AMERICANSFischer headlined a group of six Stanford women's water polo players that claimed spots on various ACWPC All-America teams. Fischer was joined on the first team by her sister, sophomore Aria Fischer. Redshirt sophomore Emalia Eichelberger and senior Kat Klass landed on the second team and freshman Ryann Neushul the third team while sophomore Sarah Klass earned honorable mention accolades.
MPSF TOURNAMENTThe Cardinal earned an at-large berth into the NCAA 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 now winning six of the past nine national championships, 2014 was the only season in the past 13 in which Stanford won a conference crown.
HOST WITH THE MOSTStanford hosted the 2019 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship for a record fifth time (2001, 2004, 2008, 2015). Four years prior, 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 AVERYAfter going 13-1 at home in 2019, Stanford is 111-10 at Avery since 2008.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCEStanford 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 FISCHERMakenzie Fischer put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in MPSF history. The ACWPC National Player of the Year and MPSF Player of the Year scored a league-best 3.50 goals per game, the second-highest average in the conference over the past 15 seasons (Sarah Harris; Pacific; 2007; 3.64).
The junior scored in every one of the 24 games in which she played and poured in a career-high 84 goals, the second-most in Stanford history (Ellen Estes; 1998; 93) and a single-season record for a national champion. Fischer is sixth on Stanford's all-time scoring list with 205 career goals in just 74 games (2.77 goals per game). Estes (1997-98, 2001-02) is next on the list with 214 and Seidemann (2009-11, 13) and Lauren Silver (2006-09) are tied for the school record with 239.
Named the NCAA Tournament MVP, Fischer scored six times at the national championship tournament, including a hat trick in the final against USC.
SEEING THE STATSStanford topped the MPSF in goals per game with a school-record 15.56, ahead of USC (13.50), and was second in goals allowed per game (6.68), trailing the Trojans (4.73). Individually, Makenzie Fischer led the league in goals per game (3.50) and Aria Fischer was third (2.42). Sarah Klass was 10th (1.68), Kat Klass was 13th (1.54), Madison Berggren was 15th (1.42), Ryann Neushul was 17th (1.40) and Madison Stamen 20th (1.29). Emalia Eichelberger's 7.27 goals against average was fourth in the conference and her 8.91 saves per game were fourth. Thea Walsh was second in goals against average (5.56) and eighth in saves per game (6.47).
CARDINAL TO CHINANo 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 FAMEJessica 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 were 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 22nd seasons 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 six-time national coach of the year who holds a 545-79 (.873) career record at Stanford, Tanner has tutored 10 ACWPC Players of the Year, eight Peter J. Cutino award winners and 118 ACWPC All-America selections.