2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
United States national water polo tournament
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The 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 34th 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 Burns Aquatic Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California during December 2002.[1]
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | December 2002 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Stanford (10th title) |
| Runners-up | California (18th title game) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 59 (14.75 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,767 (1,192 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Michael Vieira, Queens–NY (5) Tony Azevedo, Stanford (5) |
| Awards | |
| Best player | Tony Azevedo, Stanford (2) |
Stanford defeated rival California in the final, 7–6, to win their tenth national title. The Cardinal (24–5) were coached by John Vargas.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was again Tony Azevedo from Stanford. Azevedo, along with six other players, also comprised the All-Tournament Team.
Azevedo, along with Queens College's Michael Vieira, were the tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each.
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 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| California | 23rd | 1995 |
| UC San Diego | 9th | 2000 |
| Queens College (NY) | 2nd | 1997 |
| Stanford | 25th | 2001 |
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Championship | ||||||||
 Stanford
| 10 | ||||||||
| UC San Diego
| 5 | ||||||||
| Stanford
| 7 | ||||||||
| California
| 6 | ||||||||
| California
| 14 | ||||||||
 Queens (NY)
| 6 | Third Place | |||||||
| UC San Diego
| 5 | ||||||||
| Queens (NY)
| 6OT | ||||||||
All-tournament team
- Tony Azevedo, Stanford (Most outstanding player)
- Attila Banhidy, California
- Nick Ellis, Stanford
- Peter Hudnut, Stanford
- Chris Lathrop, California
- Andrew Stoddard, California
- Michael Vieira, Queens (NY)