Princeton University Athletics
Men's Water Polo Draws Top-Ranked UCLA in NCAA Semifinals
November 29, 2004 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 29, 2004
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton men's water polo team will meet top-ranked UCLA in the second semifinal of the 2004 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, hosted by Stanford. The game will take place on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. Pacific time. Loyola Marymount and Stanford will meet in the other semifinal.
Princeton assistant coach Derek Ellingson appeared on CSTV last night when the bracket was announced. Click here to watch the video.
Princeton qualified for the tournament by winning the Collegiate Water Polo Association championship in four overtimes over St. Francis. Stanford received the Mountain Pacific Sports Federeation's bid, while Loyola Marymount earned the Western Water Polo Association's automatic bid. UCLA was chosen as an at-large competitor. Stanford recieved the top seed for the championship, but is ranked No. 2 behind UCLA, the second seed. Princeton received the third seed and Loyola Marymount is the fourth seed.
No. 10 Princeton, which climbed into the top 10 in last week's poll for the first time, makes its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Tigers first appeared in the NCAA Water Polo tournament in 1992. That year, eight teams qualified and Princeton went 0-3 and finished eighth. Princeton fell Southern California, UC San Diego and Navy in that tournament.
This season Princeton has met one of the teams in the Final Four only one of the team's in the Final Four. That game came against Stanford and was won by the Cardinal 15-4 and is the only meeting between the team's since Princeton men's water polo became a varsity sport in 1996. Princeton only match up against UCLA came in the 2002 season, a 10-9 loss to the Bruins in the Nor Cal Tournament. Princeton has also faced Loyola Marymount once since becoming a varsity team, and that meeting came in 2000 and was one by Loyola Marymount 9-8.