1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 13th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1981.[1]
 | |
| Dates | December 1981 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | Stanford (4th title) |
| Runners-up | Long Beach State (1st title game) |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 228 (19 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,579 (215 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | James Bergeson, Stanford (12) |
| Best player | James Bergeson, Stanford & Jody Campbell, Stanford |
← 1980 1982 → | |
Stanford defeated Long Beach State in the final, 17–6, to win their fourth, and second consecutive, national title.
James Bergeson (Stanford) and Jody Campbell (Stanford) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.
Bergeson was also the tournament's leading scorer, with 12 goals.
Qualification
Since there has only ever 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 4th | 1979 |
| Brown | 3rd | 1979 |
| California | 9th | 1980 |
| Long Beach State | 6th | 1975 |
| Stanford | 9th | 1980 |
| UC Irvine | 12th | 1980 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 9th | 1980 |
| UCLA | 10th | 1979 |
Bracket
- Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 6 | Stanford | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | 16 | UC Irvine | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | 9 | Stanford | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 8 | Long Beach State | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 5 | Long Beach State | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | UCLA | 16 | California | 9 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 9 | California | 10 | UC Irvine | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 8 | UCLA | 7 | California | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
All-tournament team
- James Bergeson, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Jody Campbell, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Dave George, UC Santa Barbara
- Chris Kelsey, Stanford
- Alan Mouchawar, Stanford
- Vince Vanelli, Stanford
- John Vargas, UC Irvine
See also
References
- "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.