1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
 | |
| Dates | December 1987 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | California (7th title) |
| Runners-up | USC (2nd title game) |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 234 (19.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 4,398 (367 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Rafael Gandarillas, Pepperdine & Alexis Rousseau, UCLA (11) |
| Best player | (USC) |
← 1986 1988 → | |
The 1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 19th 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 in Long Beach, California during December 1987.[1]
California defeated USC in the final, 9–8 (in one overtime), to win their seventh national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 27–3.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was (USC). An All-Tournament Team of eight players was also named.
The tournament's leading scorers, with 12 goals each, were Rafael Gandarillas (Pepperdine) and Alexis Rousseau (UCLA)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | 9th | 1986 |
| California | 14th | 1986 |
| UC Irvine | 16th | 1985 |
| Navy | 3rd | 1986 |
| Pepperdine | 6th | 1986 |
| USC | 10th | 1986 |
| Stanford | 15th | 1986 |
| UCLA | 16th | 1986 |
Bracket[]
- Site: , Long Beach, California
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| California | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 7 | California | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 17 | UC Irvine | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 12 | California (OT) | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine (OT) | 13 | USC | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 16 | UCLA | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | Navy | 8 | USC (OT) | 12 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 7 | USC | 17 | UC Irvine | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Navy | 6 | Navy | 5 | UCLA | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||
All-tournament team[]
- , USC (Most outstanding player)
- , California
- Fernando Carsalade, UCLA
- Kirk Everist, California
- Erich Fischer, Stanford
- , USC
- , Pepperdine
- Alexis Rousseau, UCLA
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- 1987 in American sports
- 1987 in water polo
- 1987 in sports in California
- December 1987 sports events in the United States
- NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship