1969 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1969 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the first annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national championship of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1969.[1]
 | |
| Dates | December 1969 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | UCLA (1st title) |
| Runners-up | California (1st title game) |
| Third place | UC Santa Barbara |
| Fourth place | Long Beach State |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 145 (12.08 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Ben Gage, UCSB (14) |
1970 → | |
UCLA defeated California in the final, 5–2, to win their first championship.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Ben Gage, from UC Santa Barbara, with 14 goals. The awards for All-Tournament Team and Most Outstanding Player were given out until 1972.
Qualification
Since there has only been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| California | 1st | Never |
| Colorado State | 1st | Never |
| Long Beach State | 1st | Never |
| UC Irvine | 1st | Never |
| UCLA | 1st | Never |
| UC Santa Barbara | 1st | Never |
| USC | 1st | Never |
| Yale | 1st | Never |
Bracket
- Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 13 | UCLA | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 3 | Long Beach State | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 2 | UCLA | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 3 | California | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 4 | UC Santa Barbara | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | UC Irvine | 10 | California | 6 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 5 | California (OT) | 5 | Long Beach State | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 9 | UC Irvine | 4 | UC Santa Barbara | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved March 11, 2015.