1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Tournament details
Dates	December 1998
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	USC (1st title)
Runner-up	Stanford (13th title game)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	60 (15 per match)
Attendance	3,132 (783 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	George Csaszar, USC (5)
Best player	Chris Aguilera, Stanford Ivan Babic, USC Marko Pintaric, USC

The 1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 30th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, California during December 1998.^[1]

USC defeated Stanford in the final, 9–8 (in two overtimes), to win their first national title. The Trojans had previously gone 0–6 in tournament finals appearances. The Trojans (25–3) were coached by John Williams and Jovan Vavic.

The Most Outstanding Players of the tournament were Chris Aguilera (Stanford), Ivan Babic (USC), and Marko Pintaric (USC). These three, along with five other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.

The tournament's leading scorer, with 5 goals, was George Csaszar from USC.

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 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Stanford	22nd	1994
UC San Diego	6th	1995
Massachusetts	5th	1996
USC	17th	1997

Bracket

• Site: Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center, Newport Beach, California

	Semifinals					Championship
	USC		12
	Massachusetts		3
						USC (2OT)		9
						Stanford		8
	Stanford		6
	UC San Diego		3			Third Place
						Massachusetts		9
						UC San Diego (4OT)		10

All-tournament team

• Chris Aguilera, Stanford (Most outstanding player)
• Ivan Babic, USC (Most outstanding player)
• Layne Beaubien, Stanford
• James Castle, USC
• George Csaszar, USC
• Brian Heifferon, Stanford
• Ross Mecham, UC San Diego
• Marko Pintaric, USC (Most outstanding player)

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

References

1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 20, 2015.