By Colin Yuhl
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]
In NCAA women’s water polo, there is the “Big
Four” and then there’s everyone else. UCLA, Stanford,
USC and Cal dominate the competition. The battles between these
teams usually decide the team that will be top-ranked in the
nation. Outside these teams, however, the disparity becomes
obvious.
San Diego State and San Jose State finished the regular season
tied for fifth place. These two teams went 1-12 against the Big
Four this year, with San Jose State claiming the only victory
““ an upset win over Cal in the MPSF tournament. Aztec head
coach Carin Crawford revealed the drop-off between the Big Four and
the rest of the nation succinctly:
“Our strategy this year was to beat the teams ranked five
and below and just try to upset one of the top four teams,”
she said.
Since the NCAA tournament invites only four teams to vie for the
national championship, you might naturally expect the top four
teams to be the ones playing for the title. But that’s not
the the way it works.
Instead, only the winners of the three collegiate conferences
(the MPSF, CWPA and WWPA) plus an at-large team get to take part in
the tournament. Of these three, the MPSF conference is by far the
best in the nation. Eight of the top 10 teams are part of the MPSF.
To be sure, the CWPA and WWPA have some good teams. LMU and
Michigan, winners of their respective conferences, are no
pushovers.
Unfortunately, when compared to UCLA and Stanford, they have no
real shot at competing. In last year’s NCAA semifinal, the
Bruins defeated LMU 11-1. The Lions will once again face UCLA in
the first game of the tournament, but will this year’s
results be any different?
When asked about the likelihood of a rematch between Stanford
and UCLA in the national title game, Cardinal head coach John
Tanner laughed.
“Odds are really good we’ll be facing them again.
You never know for sure, upsets can happen, but we’re
definitely looking forward to seeing them again,” he
said.
In place of the fierce, intensely competitive event an NCAA
tournament should be, the first round resembles exhibition games.
Even worse, Cal and USC, teams that could truly compete for the
championship, are left totally out of the mix.
“I don’t think four teams is the best way,”
UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said. “You leave out teams
that have legitimate chances at championships.”
USC, especially, should feel disappointed with the format. In
their last game against LMU, the Trojans defeated the Lions in an
8-1 rout.
The NCAA tournament draws the largest crowds of the year.
According to UCLA defender Robin Beauregard, the NCAA would be in
the best interest of collegiate water polo to give fans the
opportunity to see the most competitive tournament possible.
“It’s just so limiting,” she said. “Only
two out of the top six or seven teams get to play. It’d be
better for the sport if more teams were invited.”