1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 20th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1988.[1]
 | |
| Dates | December 1988 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | California (8th title) |
| Runners-up | UCLA (7th title game) |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 238 (19.83 per match) |
| Attendance | 5,073 (423 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Kyle Kopp, Long Beach State (12) |
| Best player | Kirk Everist (California) |
← 1987 1989 → | |
California defeated UCLA in the final, 14–11, to win their eighth national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 33–3.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Kirk Everist (California). An All-Tournament Team of seven players was also named.
The tournament's leading scorer, with 12 goals, was Kyle Kopp from Long Beach State.
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. Arkansas–Little Rock, who appeared for the first time this year, was the first team from the Southern United States to qualify for the tournament.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas–Little Rock | 1st | Never |
| California | 15th | 1987 |
| UC Irvine | 17th | 1987 |
| Long Beach State | 9th | 1985 |
| Navy | 4th | 1987 |
| USC | 11th | 1987 |
| Stanford | 16th | 1987 |
| UCLA | 17th | 1987 |
Bracket
- Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| California | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock | 10 | California | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 13 | Stanford | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 13 | California | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 10 | UCLA | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 17 | USC | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | Navy | 5 | UCLA | 13 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock (OT) | 10 | UCLA | 11 | Stanford | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 9 | Navy | 3 | USC | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
All-tournament team
- Kirk Everist, California (Most outstanding player)
- Rich Ambidge, California
- Zoltan Berty, USC
- Jeff Brush, California
- Fernando Carsalade, UCLA
- Rob Carver, USC
- Alexis Rousseau, UCLA
See also
References
- "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 3, 2015.