1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Dates	December 1988
Teams	8
Champions	California (8th title)
Runners-up	UCLA (7th title game)
Matches played	12
Goals scored	238 (19.83 per match)
Attendance	5,073 (423 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Kyle Kopp, Long Beach State (12)
Best player	Kirk Everist (California)
← 1987 1989 →

The 1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 20th 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 Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1988. ^[1]

California defeated UCLA in the final, 14–11, to win their eighth national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 33–3.

The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Kirk Everist (California). An All-Tournament Team of seven players was also named.

The tournament's leading scorer, with 12 goals, was Kyle Kopp from Long Beach State.

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. Arkansas–Little Rock, who appeared for the first time this year, was the first team from the Southern United States to qualify for the tournament.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Arkansas–Little Rock	1st	Never
California	15th	1987
UC Irvine	17th	1987
Long Beach State	9th	1985
Navy	4th	1987
USC	11th	1987
Stanford	16th	1987
UCLA	17th	1987

Bracket

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

	Fifth place					Consolation semifinals					First round					Championship semifinals					Championship
												California	17
												Arkansas–Little Rock	6
							Arkansas–Little Rock	10									California	10
							Long Beach State	13									Stanford	6
												Stanford	5
												Long Beach State	4
		Long Beach State	13																			California	14
		UC Irvine	10																			UCLA	11
												USC	13
												UC Irvine	11
	Seventh place						UC Irvine	17									USC	10			Third place
							Navy	5									UCLA	13
		Arkansas–Little Rock (OT)	10									UCLA	11									Stanford	7
		Navy	9									Navy	3									USC	10

All-tournament team

• Kirk Everist, California (Most outstanding player)
• Rich Ambidge, California
• Zoltan Berty, USC
• Jeff Brush, California
• Fernando Carsalade, UCLA
• Rob Carver, USC
• Alexis Rousseau, UCLA

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

References

1. "Men's Water Polo Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 3, 2015.