UCLA dominated UC San Diego with an 11-2 victory to claim its second consecutive National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship December 3 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, California. The Bruins jumped out to a 2-1 lead and then exploded for eight unanswered goals. Each of UCLA's five seniors scored in the game to give the Bruins their seventh NCAA water polo title. UCLA finished the season 18-7. "We were confident all week, regardless of who we played on Sunday," said Guy Baker, UCLA head coach. "We had a great week of practice, and normally when we practice well, we've played really well." Senior Sean Kern, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second time, had two goals in the game. Brian Brown had a game-high three goals, and Jeff Pflueger added two. Defensively, goalie Brandon Brooks saved 11 shots at the net and allowed only one goal on his watch. "I think Brandon (Brooks) is the best goalie in the country, and the great part about our defense is if you can break it down, which can be difficult, you still have to score on Brandon," Baker said. UC San Diego, which upset Southern California, 9-8, to advance to the title game for the first time, tallied goals from Vladimir Djapic and Jonathan Samuels. The Tritons finished the season 21-9. "We were all hoping we would have something left for today," said Denny Harper, UC San Diego head coach. "But in hindsight, it's obvious we were spent. The combination of that and the fact that UCLA is a phenomenal team, it just was not going to happen. And to be honest with you, even if we had had another week to prepare, I don't think it would have been any different." UCLA advanced to the championship game by defeating Navy, 12-5. Southern California avenged its loss in the semifinals with a season-ending victory over Navy, 15-9. Besides Kern, UCLA placed Brooks and Brown on the all-tournament team, while Southern California was represented by Ivan Babic, Stever O'Rourke and Pedrag Damjanov. UC San Diego's Jason Boettner also was honored. The second team included Navy's Sean Foster and Nick Hill, UCLA's Blake Wellen and Dave Parker, and Djapic, Samuels and Justin Wylie of UC San Diego. Semifinals | Navy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 -- 5 |
| UCLA | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 -- 12 |
Navy goals: Sean Foster (2), Joe Donahue, Steve Phillabaum, Adrian Rawn. UCLA goals: Andrew Bailey (2), Ryan Brown (2), Sean Kern (2), Blake Wellen (2), Kyle Baumgarner, Albert Garcia, Dave Parker, Dan Yeilding. Saves: Navy -- Cody Acuna 1; UCLA -- Brandon Brooks 6, Eric Meadows 2. Attendance: 1,185. | UC San Diego | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 -- 9 |
| Southern California | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 -- 8 |
UC San Diego goals: Jason Boettner (5), Brett Allan, Vladimir Djapic, Kellan Hori, Justin Wylie. Southern California goals: Ivan Babic (3), Stever O'Rourke (2), Pedrag Damjanov, Daniel Lontay , Nenad Praporski. Saves: UC San Diego -- Glenn Busch 7; Southern California -- Darin Smith 5; Bozidar Damjanovic 2. Attendance: 1,185. Third place | Southern California | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 -- 15 |
| Navy | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 -- 9 |
Southern California goals: Ivan Babic (6), George Csaszar (2), Pedrag Damjanov (2), Erik Healy, Jeff Larson, Stever O'Rourke, Nenad Praporski, Tim Wollthan. Navy goals: Sean Foster (3), Andrew Sause (2), Barry Shaw (2), Joe Donahue, Adrian Rawn. Saves: Southern California -- Darin Smith 5, Bozidar Damjanovic 5; Navy -- Nick Hill 4, Sean Stankowski 3. Attendance: 2,079. Championship | UCLA | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 -- 11 |
| UC San Diego | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 -- 2 |
UCLA goals: Brian Brown (3), Sean Kern (2), Jeff Pflueger (2), Andrew Bailey, Dave Parker, Blake Wellen, Dan Yeilding. UC San Diego goals: Vladimir Djapic, Jonathan Samuels. Saves: UCLA -- Brandon Brooks 11, Eric Meadows 1; UC San Diego -- Glenn Busch 6. Attendance: 2,079 .
