1977 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1977 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Dates December 1977
Teams 8
Champions California (4th title)
Runners-up UC Irvine (5th title game)
Third place Stanford
Fourth place Pepperdine
Matches played 12
Goals scored 249 (20.75 per match)
Attendance 765 (64 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Scott Schulte, Bucknell (14)
Best player Gary Figueroa, UC Irvine

The 1977 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the ninth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Smith Swim Center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island during December 1977.[1]

California defeated UC Irvine in the final, 8–6, to win their fourth national title. This was a rematch of the 1973, 1974, and 1975 finals, all won by the Golden Bears.

The leading scorer for the tournament was Scott Schulte from Bucknell (14 goals). Gary Figueroa, from UC Irvine, was named the Most Outstanding Player. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.

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
Arizona 3rd 1976
Brown 1st Never
Bucknell 1st Never
California 5th 1975
Loyola–Chicago 3rd 1976
Pepperdine 1st Never
Stanford 6th 1976
UC Irvine 9th 1976

Bracket

  Fifth place Consolation semifinals First round Championship semifinals Championship
                                               
    Stanford 14  
    Brown 2  
  Brown 6       Stanford 7  
  Arizona 15       UC Irvine 9  
  UC Irvine 14
    Arizona 7  
  Arizona 14       UC Irvine 6
  Loyola–Chicago 4       California 8
    California 28  
      Bucknell 10  
Bucknell 9       California 11
  Seventh place     Loyola–Chicago 13       Pepperdine 10     Third place
  Brown 7   Pepperdine 14   Stanford 10
  Bucknell 16     Loyola–Chicago 9     Pepperdine 6

All-tournament team

See also

References

  1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results". NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 7, 2015.