Dates and site: The semifinals and finals will be May 12-13 at Stanford.

Field: A four-team, single-elimination tournament will determine the champion. A third-place game will be played before the championship game. Three teams will be automatic qualifiers from the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Western Water Polo Association. The final team will be selected at-large.

Selection date: April 30.

Top team contenders: Stanford, UCLA, Indiana, Loyola Marymount, UC San Diego, Massachusetts.

Players to watch: Brenda Villa, Stanford; Coralie Simmons, UCLA; Aniko Pelle, Southern California; Emma Kudritzki, UC San Diego; Kristin Stanford, Indiana .

Women's water polo becomes the third emerging sport to become an NCAA championship sport. Rowing had its first championship in 1997, and women's ice hockey debuted in March.