1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Tournament details
Dates	December 1981
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Stanford (4th title)
Runner-up	Long Beach State (1st title game)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	228 (19 per match)
Attendance	2,579 (215 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	James Bergeson, Stanford (12)
Best player	James Bergeson, Stanford & Jody Campbell, Stanford

The 1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 13th 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 1981.^[1]

Stanford defeated Long Beach State in the final, 17–6, to win their fourth, and second consecutive, national title.

James Bergeson (Stanford) and Jody Campbell (Stanford) were named the Co-Most Outstanding Players of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team, consisting of seven players, was also named.

Bergeson was also the tournament's leading scorer, with 12 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.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Air Force	4th	1979
Brown	3rd	1979
California	9th	1980
Long Beach State	6th	1975
Stanford	9th	1980
UC Irvine	12th	1980
UC Santa Barbara	9th	1980
UCLA	10th	1979

Bracket

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

	Fifth place					Consolation semifinals					First round					Championship semifinals					Championship
											Stanford		8
											Brown		5
						Brown		6								Stanford		13
						UC Santa Barbara		16								UC Irvine		6
											UC Irvine		9
											UC Santa Barbara		8
	UC Santa Barbara		9																		Stanford		17
	UCLA		8																		Long Beach State		6
											Long Beach State		15
											Air Force		6
	Seventh place					Air Force		5								Long Beach State		11			Third place
						UCLA		16								California		9
	Brown		9								California		10								UC Irvine		10
	Air Force		8								UCLA		7								California		11

All-tournament team

• James Bergeson, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
• Jody Campbell, Stanford (Co-Most outstanding player)
• Dave George, UC Santa Barbara
• Chris Kelsey, Stanford
• Alan Mouchawar, Stanford
• Vince Vanelli, Stanford
• John Vargas, UC Irvine

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

References

1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 18, 2015.