April 29, 2002
Indianapolis, Ind. - The NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee has announced the teams that will participate in the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship on May 11-12 at the McDonald's Swim Stadium in Los Angeles. Stanford, UCLA, Michigan and Loyola Marymount received selections to participate in the tournament hosted by USC.
The 2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship will be a four-team, single-elimination tournament (four games), with a losers' bracket to determine places three and four. Stanford (21-2) will face Michigan (25-11) in the first game of the championship, followed by the UCLA (21-3), and Loyola Marymount (20-7) in the second game.
The following conferences and institutions received automatic qualification: Collegiate Water Polo Association, Michigan; Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, UCLA; and the Western Water Polo Association, Loyola Marymount. Stanford received the at-large bid.
This is the second National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship. UCLA won the inaugural championship in 2001 after defeating host Stanford, 5-4.
The Cardinal head into postseason for the second consecutive season with a 21-2 record, with USC and UCLA handing Stanford its only losses of the year.