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College water polo to converge on Pacific campus May 12-14 for national championship

The nation’s water polo community will be focused on Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center as University of the Pacific and Visit Stockton co-host the 2023 NCAA Women’s Water Polo National Championship May 12-14.

An ESPNU national TV audience will enjoy the 7 p.m. championship contest on Sunday, May 14 when the 2023 champion will be crowned.

Pacific was originally scheduled to host the event in 2020 on the heels of successfully hosting the 2019 NCAA Men’s Water Polo National Championship, which featured a showdown between Stanford and Pacific in the final. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 spring season, and the NCAA rescheduled the host opportunity for Pacific and Stockton for 2023.

“We have the greatest place to watch college water polo,” said Head Coach James Graham. “It will be fantastic for fans from around the country to experience a game on our campus. Games here are unlike any other place because of the atmosphere, the proximity of fans to the competition and the facility upgrades, including our huge video board that can engage fans and adds to the game experience. The event is electric inside and outside the aquatics center.”

The Pacific women’s water polo team nearly qualified for the championship field, falling to Fresno State in the Golden Coast Conference final, 5-3, just missing out on the automatic berth from the conference.

Other conferences receiving automatic qualification include the Big West, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Metro Atlantic, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining three teams in the nine-team field were selected at large.

Single-day tickets can be purchased through the Pacific ticket office for $30 each or $20 for youth (17 and under). For ticket questions, call 209.946.2474.

The first-round and semifinal games will be streamed on ncaa.com. The national championship game will take place at 7 p.m. Pacific time Sunday, May 14 on ESPNU.

Additional information about the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship and the 2023 championship bracket can be found on the Pacific Tigers webpage.

Schedule of events:

Wednesday, May 10 (Opening Round)
Long Island vs. Biola, 1 p.m.

Friday, May 12 (Quarterfinals)
No. 1 Stanford vs. Winner of Long Island/Biola, noon
No. 4 UCLA vs. UC Irvine, 2 p.m.
No. 2 USC vs. Fresno State, 4 p.m.
No. 3 California vs. Princeton, 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 (Semifinals)
Winner of Stanford/TBA vs. Winner of UCLA/UC Irvine, 5 p.m.
Winner of USC/Fresno State vs. Winner of California/Princeton, 7 p.m.

Sunday, May 14 (Final)
Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner, 7 p.m.