Stanford Wins NCAA Women's Water Polo National Championship
May 12, 2002 | Women's Water Polo
May 12, 2002
LOS ANGELES--Top-seeded Stanford avenged last year's loss to UCLA in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship by beating the No. 2 Bruins, 8-4, to win the 2002 NCAA title on Sunday (May 12) at USC.
No. 3 Loyola Marymount beat No. 4 Michigan, 6-4, in the third place game.
In last year's inaugural NCAA championship, UCLA beat the host Cardinal, 5-4. Then, two weeks ago (April 28), the Bruins upset Stanford, 11-7, in the final of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship, also in the USC pool. That UCLA victory came after three losses earlier in the season to the Cardinal.
In Sunday's championship game, Stanford (23-2) scored twice in the first two minutes of the game on goals by Wendy Watkins and Ellen Estes. Then, Julie Gardner scored with 2:52 to go in the opening period to give the Cardinal a 3-0 cushion. UCLA (22-4) closed to 4-2 late in the third quarter on a Natalie Golda goal and had a chance to pull within a goal when Robin Beauregard's shot came within inches of floating into the cage. Stanford quickly transitioned back down the pool and scored seconds later on a Kelty Luber shot with 1:01 to go in the third period, effectively sealing the victory.
Stanford goalie Jackie Frank, named the tournament's MVP, had 12 saves and allowed UCLA to score just once in the Bruins' 10 six-on-five opportunities. Gardner and teammate Ellen Estes each scored twice for the Cardinal. Golda led the Bruins with 3 goals.
"We had a great feeling from the beginning," said Stanford coach John Tanner. We came out and made plays. We dominated the game for the first quarter-and-a-half, but we then continued to make plays. We were anchored by Jackie, who was the key to the win."
Said UCLA coach Adam Krikorian: "Obviously, I'm disappointed. You can't give a great team like Stanford a three-goal lead and come back and make a game of it. But we never gave up. Stanford put away their shots and we didn't."
In the consolation match, Lucy Windes scored 4 goals and Teresa Guidi added 2 to help Loyola Marymount (21-8) to its second consecutive third-place NCAA finish. Jen Crisman scored twice for Michigan (25-13). LMU led 3-1 early in the second quarter, but the Wolverines battled back and trailed just 4-3 before Windes scored with 3 seconds to go in the third quarter. Windes added her final goal with 1:50 to play to put the Lions up 6-3. LMU goalie Devon Courtney had 8 saves.
"We came out and had a nice start," said Loyola Marymount coach John Loughran. "Lucy and Devon stepped up big time. Defensively, we did a nice job. Our goal was to hold Michigan to four goals or less. Devon's play in goal was the high point of the game. Getting this NCAA experience is so important for our program. We hope to close the gap next year."
Said Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto: "It was a great game. We started slower than I would have liked. We had our shot opportunities, but we just weren't making them. As much as we wanted to win, I had to remind myself and the players that we're still a two-year-old program and we are making strides."
Championship Match 1 2 3 4 OT Final #1 Stanford (23-2) 3 1 1 3 -- 8 #2 UCLA (22-4) 0 1 1 2 -- 4Stanford Goals: Ellen Estes 2, Julie Gardner 2, Brenda Villa 1, Jeanine Jackson 1, Kelty Luber 1, Wendy Watkins 1 UCLA Goals: Natalie Golda 3, Kelly Heuchan 1 Stanford Saves: Jackie Frank 12 UCLA Saves: Jaime Hipp 4
Consolation Match 1 2 3 4 OT Final #3 Loyola Marymount (21-8) 1 2 2 1 -- 6 #4 Michigan (25-13) 1 1 1 1 -- 4
Loyola Marymount Goals: Lucy Windes 4, Teresa Guidi 2 Michigan Goals: Jen Crisman 2, Casey Kerney 1, Mandi Hagedom 1 Loyola Marymount Saves: Devon Courtney 8 Michigan Saves: Betsey Armstrong 7
2002 NCAA WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP MAY 12 USC McDONALD'S SWIM STADIUM
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
First Team Jackie Frank, Stanford MVP Kelly Heuchan , UCLA Ellen Estes, Stanford Robin Beauregard, UCLA Brenda Villa, Stanford Lucy Windes, Loyola Marymount Natalie Golda, UCLA Amber Stachowski, UCLASecond Team Betsey Armstrong, Michigan Thalia Munro, UCLA Julie Gardner, Stanford Teresa Guidi, Loyola Marymount Wendy Watkins, Stanford Jaime Hipp, UCLA Jen Crisman, Michigan Margie Dingeldein, Stanford
2002 NCAA WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME MAY 12 USC McDONALD'S SWIM STADIUM
POST-GAME QUOTES
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (STANFORD VS. UCLA)
UCLA coach Adam Krikorian: "Obviously, I'm disappointed. This is tough. It's like d?j? vu with our men's team (this year). You can't go into a game and give a great team like Stanford a three-goal lead and come back and make a game of it.
"You give them a lot of credit, but after being down 3-0, our girls never gave up. They continued to push and compete. They never stopped being playing aggressive. After being down 3-0, not to take anything away from Stanford, but I thought we had control of the game.
"We wanted to be aggressive. We knew they'd drop a player and play a zone and use Jackie Frank to make saves. But we went 1-for-10 (on 6-on-5s) and in water polo, you can't go 1-for-10 and expect to win, especially against a great team like Stanford. It comes down to opportunities. They put away their shots and we didn't.
"I'm still very happy and I'm proud because of how the team played. They didn't back down and were competitive the entire game."
UCLA Center Robin Beauregard: "Any time there's a championship game, both teams are fired up. It's a round ball and sometimes it bounces in and sometimes it bounces out. Their first three shots went in and it amped them up. It was a big obstacle when our first three shots didn't go in.
"Everything is heightened in the championship game. You don't put more pressure on yourself, but if you make a bad pass, you might second-guess yourself a little longer than in a regular game. When things don't go your way, it's a little harder to deal with. The ball didn't bounce our way today."
Stanford Coach John Tanner: "I'm very proud of this team. It was a beautiful day, a great atmosphere and we were thrilled. We had a great feeling from the beginning. We came out and made plays.
"I felt like we dominated the game for the first quarter-and-a-half, but after, we continued to make plays. We did great on the 5-on-6s, which we emphasized. We were anchored by Jackie, who was the key to the whole thing.
"It's a wonderful feeling to win in front of a big group of Stanford alums. There were a lot of people who came down to watch us play."
Stanford Goalie Jackie Frank: "We play great defense no matter who's in goal, a horrible goalie or the best goalie in the world. Our defense is solid and played great. They made five or six field blocks on 5-on-6s so I didn't have to make a play."
Stanford 2-Meter Kate Pettit: "This was all about us today. It was all about our intensity and wanting to step up. We wanted this feeling and we deserved it. We put it all out on the line and this couldn't feel better."
Stanford Driver Margie Dingeldein: "This is the best way I could imagine to finish my Stanford career. The last three years we had what I felt was the best team and didn't come through. This is for all of the seniors from the past who graduated."
2002 NCAA WOMEN'S WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIP CONSOLATION GAME MAY 12 USC McDONALD'S SWIM STADIUM
POST-GAME QUOTES
CONSOLATION GAME (LOYOLA MARYMOUNT VS. MICHIGAN)
Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto: "It was a great game. We started slower than I would have liked. We had our shot opportunities, but just weren't making them. We were shooting high and shooting wide. We just couldn't put the ball in the goal.
"I think our team got its big-game jitters out of the way yesterday with their first Final Four, first game of the Final Four. We were used to the atmosphere, the crowd and the sun.
"I think this team gets fired up a little too late. We have a really good fourth quarter but we have to find a way to get started earlier.
"As much as we wanted to get to the title game, or win the third place game, I had to remind myself and the girls that we're still young and are making strides. But I also told them they cannot be satisfied and they have to keep working."
Michigan Utility Delia Sonda: "I was really excited in the last few minutes. I thought we had the potential to come back and tie the game or close the gap. We tried our hardest and fought. There might have been a little miscommunication at the end, but I'm happy with what we're doing.
"This is very surreal. Before we made the Final Four, people didn't know about water polo at our school or that I was playing it. I'm glad we could bring some pride to our school. You forget it was a club sport just two years ago. I'm really proud we made it this far in only our second year."
Loyola Marymount coach John Loughran: "I thought we came out and had a good start. Our two seniors stepped up big time, Lucy Windes and Devon Courtney. Defensively, we did a nice job. Our goal was to hold them to four goals or less. Devon's play in goal was the high point of the game. We came out and hit some nice plays, including two 6-on-5s. Teresa Guidi's second goal sealed the game. She's been our most consistent player.
"Getting this experience is so important. We hope to close the gap next year. We're on course to do that. Our goal is to win this tournament.
Loyola Marymount Utility Lucy Windes: "We were ready to go out and play. We knew it was our last game and we had to give our all. Devon had a wonderful game."
(on her four goals): "I think it was luck. I just wanted to go out with a bang."
"This program continues to grow. Every year, we've exceeded all expectations."
