1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 15th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1983.[1]
 | |
| Dates | December 1983 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | California (5th title) |
| Runners-up | USC (1st title game) |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 205 (17.08 per match) |
| Attendance | 2,697 (225 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Dan O’Connell, Loyola–Chicago (11) |
| Best player | Jeff Campbell, UC Irvine Peter Cutino, California Alan Gresham, California |
← 1982 1984 → | |
California defeated USC in the final, 10–7, to win their fifth national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 29–3–2.
Jeff Campbell (UC Irvine), Peter Cutino (California), and Alan Gresham (California) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of eight players, was also named.
The tournament's leading scorer was Dan O’Connell from Loyola–Chicago (11 goals).
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. Nonetheless, Slippery Rock became the first team from outside Division I to qualify for the championship tournament.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | 5th | 1982 |
| California | 11th | 1982 |
| UC Irvine | 14th | 1982 |
| Long Beach State | 7th | 1981 |
| Loyola–Chicago | 8th | 1982 |
| Slippery Rock | 1st | Never |
| USC | 7th | 1982 |
| UCLA | 12th | 1982 |
Bracket
- Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
| Fifth place | Consolation semifinals | First round | Championship semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| California | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Slippery Rock | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Slippery Rock | 4 | California | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 15 | Long Beach State | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State (2OT) | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 9 | California | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 3 | USC | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown (2OT) | 13 | USC | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | Loyola–Chicago | 11 | UC Irvine | 8 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Slippery Rock | 5 | UC Irvine | 12 | Long Beach State | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola–Chicago | 12 | Loyola–Chicago | 8 | UC Irvine | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
All-tournament team
- Jeff Campbell, UC Irvine (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Peter Cutino, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Alan Gresham, California (Co-Most outstanding player)
- Jim Birdsell, Long Beach State
- Shaun Cleary, California
- Mike Evans, UC Irvine
- Dan O'Connell, Loyola–Chicago
- Note: O'Connell was the only player from a team outside the state of California to be named to an all-tournament team during its 8-team format
- Mike Spicer, USC
See also
References
- "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 19, 2015.