1971 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
{{Short description|Water polo tournament season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox football tournament season
| title = NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
| year = 1971
| other_titles =
| image = NCAA 70s logo.svg
| image_size = 140
| caption =
| dates = December 1971
| num_teams = 8
| winners = UCLA (2nd title)
| second = San José State (1st title game)
| third = Cal State Fullerton
| fourth = Long Beach State
| matches = 12
| goals = 200
| attendance =
| scoring_leader = Jim Waska, CSUF (14)
| award =
| prev_season = 1970
| next_season = 1972
}}
The 1971 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the third 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 1971.{{cite web|title=Men's Water Polo Championship Results |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_water_polo_champs_records/2013-14/champs.pdf|work=NCAA|publisher=NCAA.org|accessdate=March 22, 2015}}
UCLA defeated San José State in the final, 5–3, to win their second national title.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Jim Waska from Cal State Fullerton (14 goals). The awards for All-Tournament Team and Most Outstanding Player were not given out until 1972.
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.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Team
! Appearance ! Previous |
|---|
| Cal State Fullerton
|1st |Never |
| Long Beach State
|3rd |1970 |
| New Mexico
|1st |Never |
| San José State
|2nd |1970 |
| Stanford
|2nd |1970 |
| UC Irvine
|3rd |1970 |
| UCLA
|3rd |1970 |
| Washington
|1st |Never |
Bracket
{{8TeamBracket-Consols
| team-width=150
| RD3=First round
| RD4=Championship semifinals
| RD2=Consolation semifinals
| RD5=Championship
| RD5b=Third place
| RD1=Fifth place
| RD1b=Seventh place
| RD3-seed1= | RD3-team1=UCLA | RD3-score1=37
| RD3-seed2= | RD3-team2=Washington | RD3-score2=2
| RD3-seed3= | RD3-team3=Long Beach State | RD3-score3=13
| RD3-seed4= | RD3-team4=New Mexico | RD3-score4=8
| RD3-seed5= | RD3-team5=Cal State Fullerton | RD3-score5=5
| RD3-seed6= | RD3-team6=UC Irvine | RD3-score6=4
| RD3-seed7= | RD3-team7=San José State | RD3-score7=10
| RD3-seed8= | RD3-team8=Stanford | RD3-score8=4
| RD4-seed1= | RD4-team1=UCLA | RD4-score1=10
| RD4-seed2= | RD4-team2=Long Beach State | RD4-score2=1
| RD4-seed3= | RD4-team3=Cal State Fullerton | RD4-score3=9
| RD4-seed4= | RD4-team4=San José State | RD4-score4=10
| RD2-seed1= | RD2-team1=Washington | RD2-score1=4
| RD2-seed2= | RD2-team2=New Mexico | RD2-score2=13
| RD2-seed3= | RD2-team3=UC Irvine | RD2-score3=7
| RD2-seed4= | RD2-team4=Stanford | RD2-score4=8
| RD5-seed1= | RD5-team1=UCLA | RD5-score1=5
| RD5-seed2= | RD5-team2=San José State | RD5-score2=3
| RD5b-seed1= | RD5b-team1=Long Beach State | RD5b-score1=7
| RD5b-seed2= | RD5b-team2=Cal State Fullerton | RD5b-score2=9
| RD1-seed1= | RD1-team1=New Mexico | RD1-score1=3
| RD1-seed2= | RD1-team2=Stanford | RD1-score2=5
| RD1b-seed1= | RD1b-team1=Washington | RD1b-score1=5
| RD1b-seed2= | RD1b-team2=UC Irvine | RD1b-score2=18
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship}}
{{1971–72 NCAA University Division championships navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa Men's Water Polo Championship}}
Category:1971 in American sports
Category:1971 in sports in California