1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Summary

The 1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 15th 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 1983.[1]

1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Tournament details
DatesDecember 1983
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsCalifornia (5th title)
Runner-upUSC (1st title game)
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored205 (17.08 per match)
Attendance2,697 (225 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Dan O'Connell, Loyola–Chicago (11)
Best playerJeff Campbell, UC Irvine
Peter Cutino, California
Alan Gresham, California
← 1982
1984 →

California defeated USC in the final, 10–7, to win their fifth national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 29–3–2.

Jeff Campbell (UC Irvine), Peter Cutino (California), and Alan Gresham (California) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of eight players, was also named.

The tournament's leading scorer was Dan O'Connell from Loyola–Chicago (11 goals).

Qualification edit

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. Nonetheless, Slippery Rock became the first team from outside Division I to qualify for the championship tournament.

Team Appearance Previous
Brown 5th 1982
California 11th 1982
UC Irvine 14th 1982
Long Beach State 7th 1981
Loyola–Chicago 8th 1982
Slippery Rock 1st Never
USC 7th 1982
UCLA 12th 1982

Bracket edit

Fifth placeConsolation semifinalsFirst roundChampionship semifinalsChampionship
California15
Slippery Rock2
Slippery Rock4California8
UCLA15Long Beach State5
Long Beach State (2OT)10
UCLA8
UCLA9California10
Brown3USC7
USC12
Brown4
Seventh placeBrown (2OT)13USC9Third place
Loyola–Chicago11UC Irvine8
Slippery Rock5UC Irvine12Long Beach State9
Loyola–Chicago12Loyola–Chicago8UC Irvine6

All-tournament team edit

  • Jeff Campbell, UC Irvine (Co-Most outstanding player)
  • Peter Cutino, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
  • Alan Gresham, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
  • Jim Birdsell, Long Beach State
  • Shaun Cleary, California
  • Mike Evans, UC Irvine
  • Dan O'Connell, Loyola–Chicago
    • Note: O'Connell was the only player from a team outside the state of California to be named to an all-tournament team during its 8-team format
  • Mike Spicer, USC

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 19, 2015.