The NCAA News - News and Features

December 1, 1997

Men's Water Polo

No. 1 Pepperdine tries for first title

Event: 1997 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship.

Overview: In the championship's 28-year history, only five teams have won the team title. Pepperdine is seeking to become the sixth. The Waves (20-1) are the No. 1-ranked team in the coaches' poll. Pepperdine's only loss occurred October 19 at Stanford. The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular-season champion, the Waves are led by Jeremy Pope and Alan Herrmann, who have registered 44 and 42 goals, respectively. Goaltender Merrill Moses heads the Waves' defense. The No. 1 seed in the MPSF tournament, Pepperdine won three of four games against No. 2-ranked Stanford and posted a 2-0 mark against No. 3-ranked Southern California .... If the Waves are to advance to the championship, they most likely will have to get by Stanford (17-5) and Southern California (16-6). The Cardinal is led by Brian Heifferon and David Hay, who have registered 31 and 29 goals, respectively. Goaltender Chris Aguilera is the stalwart on the Stanford defense. Southern California is led by Marko Pintaric and Mateo Juric. Pintaric notched 44 goals to lead the team in scoring, while Juric has regained his all-American form after missing eight games with a wrist injury .... While the West Coast teams battle for a spot in the championship, Queens (New York) already has clinched a berth. The Knights (25-5) defeated Massachusetts, 10-9, at the Eastern Championships November 9 to earn their first trip to the tournament. The Knights are led by John Vasek and David Moore .... UC San Diego and UC Davis lead the group of teams vying for the automatic berth given to the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA).

Field: The championship will feature a four-team, single-elimination format. One team each from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Collegiate Water Polo Association and Western Water Polo Association automatically will qualify. The remaining team will be selected at large without geographical restriction.

Dates and site: The championship will be December 5 and 7 at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Slippery Rock will serve as championship host.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1697 for dates and site, 1698 for bracket/schedule, and 5332, 5333 and 5334 for championship semifinals, third-place game and championship game results, respectively. Championships results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Championship results will be published in the December 15 issue of The NCAA News.