Dates and site: Bucknell will host the championship December 3-4 at the Kinney Natatorium.

Field: Four teams.

Selection date: November 27.

2004 champion: UCLA.

Top contenders: The top five teams in a recent Collegiate Water Polo poll were Southern California, California, UCLA, Stanford and Pepperdine.

Championship notes: Southern California senior Juraj Zatovic became the Trojans' all-time leading scorer October 23 when he scored five goals against UC Santa Barbara ... The California Golden Bears have lost to top-ranked Southern California three times this season, each time by only one goal ... Stanford hopes to return to the national-championship game after a tough overtime loss to UCLA in 2004. The Cardinal return two of its leading scorers from 2004, Thomas Hopkins and Peter Varellas. The pair leads the team in scoring again in 2005 ... Going into a November 19 matchup with top-ranked Southern California, defending-champion UCLA had a 20-game winning streak at its home pool, the Sunset Recreation Center ... In one weekend October 29-30, Pepperdine bested then-second-ranked California on Saturday and fell to then-No. 3 Stanford on Sunday.