The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship has existed since the 2001 season. Seven conferences have teams competing in women's water polo: the Big West Conference, the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the single-sport Golden Coast Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). Some teams compete at Division III either as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or independently. Teams qualify by either winning their respective conference tournament or receiving one of the few at large bids available. Unlike most NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I, Division II, and Division III competing together.
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I. UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 123 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women.
Coralie Denise Simmons is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2001, she won the Peter J. Cutino Award, presented annually to the top American collegiate water polo player. Simmons is currently in her third season as the women's water polo coach at the University of California, Berkeley, after nine seasons as the head coach at Sonoma State University. She was born in Hemet, California.
Natalie Golda is a former American water polo player and currently the head coach of the newly formed Fresno State Bulldogs water polo team to begin competition in 2018. Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all time, her senior leadership helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J. Cutino Award, given to the best player in women's collegiate water polo. She was also a member of the US Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Frank DeLuca Cochran is an American water polo goalkeeper, 2004 bronze medal Olympian and two-time collegiate National Player of the Year.
Sean Kern is an American water polo player. His position is center forward. During his water polo career, Kern was a four-time All-American, two-time National Player of the Year, two-time NCAA champion and three-time UCLA scoring leader. After his 1999 season, Kern was honored as the first-ever male recipient to receive the Peter J. Cutino Award. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he scored 3 goals for the US team.
Moriah van Norman is an American water polo player who has played for the University of Southern California and the National team, who won the Peter J. Cutino Award in 2004, recognized as the best female collegiate player in the nation. Her position is two-meter offense.
Kelly Kristen Rulon is an American water polo player. She won a gold medal with the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the water polo competition. She is also a bronze medalist from the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her position is driver.
Adam Krikorian is an American water polo coach and the head coach of the United States women's national water polo team. He coached the team to gold medals at the 2012 Olympic Games, 2016 Olympic Games, and 2020 Olympic Games. He was named the United States Olympic Committee's Coach of the Games for 2016. He won 15 NCAA national championships as player, assistant coach, and head coach at UCLA.
Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins during their four-consecutive NCAA National Champion Women's Water Polo championships, and was named to the All-Tournament first team. At UCLA, she majored in sociology.
Jillian Amaris Kraus is a water polo player. She won a gold medal in the 2005 Junior World Championships, won four straight NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships with UCLA, and has played with the United States women's national water polo team.
Guy Baker was the head coach for the United States women's national water polo team competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. He is now the Director Of Olympic Development of USA Water Polo. Baker had guided the team to a silver medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics, becoming one of the most successful water polo coaches in Olympic history. In 2018, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Adam Wright is an American water polo player and a college water polo head coach. He was a member of the United States men's national water polo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary.
Merrill M. Moses is a United States Olympic silver medalist, three-time Olympian, and three-time Pan American Games gold medalist water polo goalkeeper. He played college water polo for Pepperdine University, where he was an All-American and helped lead the team to the 1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. Moses is now associate head coach in water polo at Pepperdine.
James W. "J.W." Krumpholz is an American water polo player. He is a member of the United States men's national water polo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the championship game, the USA team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary.
Tanya Gandy played water polo for UCLA on four of the five-consecutive NCAA National Champion Women's Water Polo teams and was named to the All-Tournament first team. She attended Rancho Bernardo High School.
The Spieker Aquatics Center is a 2,500-capacity stadium in Los Angeles, California used by UCLA water polo, swimming, and diving teams. The $14-million center was built in 2009 and is named for Tod and Catherine Spieker. Tod was a student-athlete at UCLA, competing from 1968 to 1971 in swimming.
Chay Thomas Lapin is an American water polo goalkeeper. While playing at the University of California, Los Angeles, he set the school's all-time saves record. He also played for the United States national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Tumuaialii "Tumua" Anae is an American water polo goalkeeper. She was an NCAA champion and All-American while playing for the University of Southern California. She also won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the United States national team.
Stephania Haralabidis was born in Athens, Greece. Haralabidis is a Greek American water polo player who played at USC and currently playing for Ethnikos and the U.S. national team. Haralabidis also has two sisters, her twin Ioanna and older sister Anastaia. Ioanna was also on the USC women's water polo team.
