April 27, 2009
2009 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship BracketBuy Tickets Now!
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's water polo team earned one of three at-large berths available to the 2009 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship, set to take place from May 8-10 in College Park, Md., the NCAA announced Monday. The Cardinal (24-3), the MPSF runner up, was awarded the No. 2 seed in the eight-team draw, and will play in the tournament's opener against MAAC champion and No. 7 seed Marist Friday, May 8 at 10:30 a.m. PT from the University of Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center.
The selection extends Stanford's run to nine consecutive trips to the National Collegiate Championship, and keeps the Cardinal as the only program to reach all nine tournaments since the NCAA first sponsored a championship in women's water polo in 2001.
Stanford is one of four MPSF teams to earn spots in the draw, joining top overall seed and MPSF champion USC, third-seeded UCLA and fourth-seeded Hawai'i. The Cardinal finished second in the conference regular-season standings at 6-1 as well as in the MPSF Tournament last weekend, with both losses coming to the Women of Troy.
The Cardinal is led into the National Collegiate Championship by a diverse offense led by 2009 MPSF Newcomer of the Year Melissa Seidemann, whose 58 goals pace the team. First-team pick Lauren Silver is third on the team with 37 goals and will look to help Stanford capture its second national title in two weeks. All-MPSF honorable mention Kelly Eaton (39 goals) is yet another weapon in the Stanford attack, while fellow honorable mention Amber Oland has stopped an average of 7.47 shots per game in the cage.
After the Cardinal and Red Foxes open up the National Collegiate Championship Friday, May 8, action will continue with UCLA facing No. 6 seed Michigan, the CWPA champion, at 3:15 p.m. ET (12:15 p.m. PT). USC will clash with SCIAC champion and No. 8 seed Cal Lutheran at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) while the first day's action will conclude with No. 4 Hawai'i taking on WWPA champion and No. 5 seed Loyola Marymount at 6:45 p.m. ET (3:45 p.m. PT).
The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, May 9. The championship game will be played at 7 p.m. PT (4 p.m. PT) Sunday, May 10 and be telecast live on CBS College Sports Network.
Six of the eight teams return to the draw from the 2008 edition, as Hawai'i and Cal Lutheran are the only two teams in this year's tournament which did not participate in the 2208 National Collegiate Championship.