USC wins the 2021 NC women's water polo championship
USC wins 2021 NC women's water polo championship
Southern California has taken a victory dive for the sixth time in program history following a national title win to cap the 2021 NC women's water polo championship. The top-seeded Trojans rolled to an 18-9 victory over No. 3 seed UCLA in the finals, setting a record for most goals scored in a championship match.
Click or tap here to view the final interactive bracket
USC got off to an early 2-0 lead before UCLA cut the deficit to 3-2. But that was as close as the Bruins would get. Mireia Guiral (twice), Maud Megens, Bayley Weber and Verica Bakoc ripped off a 5-0 run for the Trojans before Megens and Mammolito added goals before the half for a 10-5 lead. UCLA would strike first in the second half, only to be countered another 4-0 run by USC. The Trojans tacked on four more goals from there to comfortably break the goalscoring record they set in 2004 and matched in 2010 and 2013.
Megens led all scorers with six goals and three assists in the win. She was one of four Trojans with multiple goals, along with Guiral, Weber and Bakoc.
USC leads UCLA at halftime of the NC women's water polo championship game
Top-seeded Southern California has just 20 minutes standing between it and a national championship. The Trojans are firmly in control with a 10-5 lead over UCLA at halftime in this year's final. USC opened up a quick 2-0 lead behind goals from Bayley Weber and Grace Tehaney. The Bruins responded with two of the next three scores before their cross-town rivals erupted for five straight goals between the first and second quarters. UCLA's Abbi Hill struck twice before half to close the gap, but the Bruins have some work to do if they're going to get back into this one.
HALFTIME: Denise hammers home USC's 1️⃣0️⃣th goal of the first half in this NCAA title match!
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) May 16, 2021
USC 10, UCLA 5
💻: https://t.co/Yp6KCdGFtd#FightOn ✌️ pic.twitter.com/yqI5CAHFka
Women's water polo national championship: Schedule, score
The National Collegiate DI Women's Water Polo season reaches its crescendo Sunday with No. 1 seed Southern California and No. 3 seed UCLA meeting in the national championship. Click or tap here to view live scores and stats (link opens in a new window) from the national championship.
Top-seeded Southern California is aiming for its sixth national championship, while its crosstown rival UCLA is chasing its eighth national title. The Trojans are the reigning national runners-up, falling 9-8 to Stanford in the 2019 national championship after having defeated the Cardinal in the 2018 national championship.
Click or tap here to view the interactive bracket for the 2021 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship.
Schedule, results for the NC women's water polo semifinals
Two teams remain in the 2021 NC women's water polo championship. All four seeded programs — Southern California, Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State — advanced to the semifinals, but it was the Trojans and Bruins who moved on to the finals.
USC was the first to earn a spot in the championship game with a dominant 10-4 win over Arizona State. The Sun Devils led 3-2 at one point in the second quarter before the top-seeded Trojans erupted for seven-goal run in the second half. USC will have a chance to win its third title in the past five tournaments.
UCLA joined its cross-town rival in the championship match a few hours later with a 9-7 win over Stanford. The Bruins led 4-1 early before the Cardinal surged back to tie and eventually lead in the second quarter. But UCLA was able to retake the lead at the end of the third and used a pair of huge goals in the final period to secure the win. UCLA will have a chance on Sunday to win its first title since 2009.
Here are the results from the semifinal games:
Quarterfinal results; Semifinal matchups
Hello water polo fans. Here's your one-stop shop for the 2021 women's water polo championship.
The semifinals for the NC women's water polo championship are set. The four teams that advancing to the semifinals are No. 1 Southern Cal, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 UCLA.
Here are the two semifinal matchups:
You can watch every match live here on NCAA.com.
Here are all the quarterfinal scores:
No. 1 Southern California 24, Marist 5
No. 4 Arizona State 9, Michigan 5
No. 2 Stanford 16, Fresno State 9
No. 3 UCLA 12, Hawaii 7
First round scores of the 2021 NC women's water polo tournament
The 2021 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship started Wednesday, May 12 with a pair of first round matchups. First, Marist beat Salem (WV), 9-8. Later, Fresno State defeated Cal Lutheran, 15-7.
Winners advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played Friday, May 14, when they'll face a nationally seeded opponent. Top-seeded Southern California gets Marist and No. 2 seed Stanford faces Fresno State.
Here's Wednesday's first-round schedule:
Click or tap here to view the interactive bracket.
2021 NC women's water polo championship selections announced
The NCAA Women’s Water Polo Committee announced Monday the 10 teams vying for the 2021 NC women’s water polo championship. Six teams have been placed in the bracket; the remaining four teams will compete for the last two berths in the bracket via two opening-round games.
The opening-round games will be contested May 12, hosted by University of California, Los Angeles, which will also host the championship to be held May 14-16.
The opening round games, semifinal and championship games will be played at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles and streamed live on ncaa.com.
SEE THE INTERACTIVE BRACKET | PRINTABLE BRACKET
The women's water polo selections are at 8 ET tonight
The selections for the 2021 women's water polo championship will be announced during the selection show here on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, May 3.
The championship is May 14-16 at Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California.
Women's water polo championship history
Here is the history of the women's water polo championship winners.
| YEAR | CHAMPION (RECORD) | COACH | SCORE | RUNNER-UP | SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Stanford (23-2) | John Tanner | 9-8 | Southern California | Stanford |
| 2018 | Southern California (26-1) | Jovan Vavic | 5-4 | Stanford | Southern California |
| 2017 | Stanford (23-3) | John Tanner | 8-7 | UCLA | IUPUI |
| 2016 | Southern California (26-0) | Jovan Vavic | 8-7 | Stanford | UCLA |
| 2015 | Stanford (24-2) | John Tanner | 7-6 | UCLA | Stanford |
| 2014 | Stanford (25-1) | John Tanner | 9-5 | UCLA | USC |
| 2013 | Southern California (27-1) | Jovan Vavic | 10-9 | Stanford | Harvard |
| 2012 | Stanford (26-2) | John Tanner | 6-4 | Southern California | San Diego State |
| 2011 | Stanford (28-1) | John Tanner | 9-5 | California | Michigan |
| 2010 | Southern California (25-3) | Jovan Vavic | 10-9 | Stanford | San Diego State |
| 2009 | UCLA (25-6) | Adam Krikorian | 5-4 | Southern California | Maryland |
| 2008 | UCLA (33-0) | Adam Krikorian | 6-3 | Southern California | Stanford |
| 2007 | UCLA (28-2) | Adam Krikorian | 5-4 | Stanford | Long Beach State |
| 2006 | UCLA (29-4) | Adam Krikorian | 9-8 | Southern California | UC Davis |
| 2005 | UCLA (33-0) | Adam Krikorian | 3-2 | Stanford | Michigan |
| 2004 | Southern California (29-0) | Jovan Vavic | 10-8 | Loyola Marymount | Stanford |
| 2003 | UCLA (23-4) | Adam Krikorian | 4-3 | Stanford | UC San Diego |
| 2002 | Stanford (23-2) | John Tanner | 8-4 | UCLA | Southern California |
| 2001 | UCLA (19-4) | Adam Krikorian | 5-4 | Stanford | Stanford |