2004 NCAA Championship * May 8-9
Hosted by Stanford University
Avery Aquatic Center * Stanford, Calif.
Complete Release | Championship Link
STANFORD SEASON UPDATE:
* - No. 2 Stanford earned the at-large bid into the 2004 NCAA Championship ... USC took the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2-seed Stanford, No. 3-seed Loyola Marymount and No. 4-seed Hartwick College.
* - Stanford has posted a 20-4 record this season, while taking second place at the 2004 MPSF Tournament ... The Cardinal defeated Hawaii (10-3) and UCLA (3-2), before falling to USC 7-8 in overtime of the championship game ... Scotti Shafer, Katie Hansen and Kelty Luber combined for nine goals throughout the conference tournament ... Goalie Meridith McColl tallied 16 saves in the three tourney games.
* - Senior Wendy Watkins leads Stanford with 27 goals this season, followed by junior Hannah Luber with 25 scores.
NCAA Tournament:
* - The NCAA Women's Water Polo Tournament brings together the nation's top-four teams from around the country ... USC earned an automatic berth after claiming the MPSF Tournament title ... Loyola Marymount won the bid as the Western Water Polo Association champion, and Hartwick College claimed an NCAA appearance after winning the Collegiate Water Polo Association ... The final team, Stanford, was chosen as an at-large bid by the NCAA Water Polo Committee.
* - Stanford won its first and only NCAA title in 2002 ... The Cardinal have competed in the NCAA title match in each of the past three years of the Tournament's existence.
* - For Tournament updates and information, visit GoStanford.com:/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30600&ATCLID=208432736
Tournament Schedule
Saturday, May 8
6 p.m. Semifinal Game #1 - USC (1) vs. Hartwick College (4)
7:30 p.m.Semifinal Game #2 - Stanford (2) vs. Loyola Marymount (3)
Sunday, May 9
2:30 p.m.3rd-place Game (Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2)
4 p.m.Championship Game (Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2)
TELEVISION COVERAGE:
* - The finals of the 2004 NCAA Water Polo Championship will be broadcast live on CSTV.
THE TALE of TANNER:
* - John Tanner's squad has competed in the NCAA title match in each of the past three years of the Tournament's existence and has been ranked in the top-3 every season.
* - Last season, Tanner was named the 2003 MPSF Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after guiding his squad to a first-place finish in the MPSF Tournament and a second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament ... The Cardinal wrapped up the season with a 21-3 overall record.
* - In 2002, he led the Cardinal to its first-ever NCAA Championship.
* - Was named the 1998 MPSF Coach of the Year in his first season with Stanford.
* - Tanner has been involved with U.S. Water Polo from 1988 to the present.
* - Tanner competed on the Stanford men's water polo team from 1978-82 ... Was part of a team that garnered three national championships and earned All-America honors his senior year.