It wasn’t much of a surprise that undefeated MPSF champion
UCLA earned the top seed when the NCAA unveiled the women’s
water polo championship bracket on Monday.
While the Bruins, who will play Wagner (23-7) in the first round
next Friday, were virtually assured of that spot, a host of other
teams remained on edge Monday night because of the
tournament’s new format.
By expanding the field to eight teams instead of four in
previous years, there were two more automatic and two more at-large
bids available.
Along with UCLA and Wagner, Michigan, Loyola Marymount and
Redlands also earned automatic berths. The Mountain Pacific Sports
Federation was well represented as well, with No. 2 USC, No. 3
Stanford and No. 4 Hawai’i all earning at-large berths to
play in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Many coaches around the country are in favor of the new playoff
format.
“I’m excited because the change makes (the NCAA
Tournament) more of a legitimate tournament because it lets more
teams be involved that should be involved,” UCLA coach Adam
Krikorian said. “Probably if this were the case last year, a
great team like Stanford would not be going to NCAA. This year they
are there, and deservedly so.”
However, while many coaches have praised the changes, a few have
made it apparent that the format has its flaws.
The change includes incorporating two additional conferences,
the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).
One of the gripes coaches have expressed against the new format
includes the fact that Redlands, which will represent the SCIAC
conference, is a Division III program, and Wagner, which will
represent the MAAC conference, is an unranked Division I
school.
“I don’t agree with five selections of conference
because we don’t know how good those teams are; they
aren’t even ranked in the top 20,” Hawai’i coach
Michael Roy said. “It’s sad because we beat a team like
Long Beach State (that didn’t qualify) by one goal and they
are as good a team as any.
“I’m sure it’s great that (the committee) is
devleoping conferences and opening it up to other teams, but I
don’t think when these two teams play they’ll even be
competitive.”
Michigan coach Matt Anderson, who supported the expansion, also
expressed similar concerns.
“I feel that lots of teams deserve to make it,”
Anderson said. “I think six of the eight teams deserve to be
there, but the two smaller teams, I don’t feel they
should.”
Wagner coach Patrick Beemer feels allowing small conferences
such as the one his school belongs to into the tournament will
increase the sport’s exposure.
“I do think it’s a long time coming,” Beemer
said. “It’s more exciting, and with more teams, more
competitive. We’re a tiny team. To be able to make the NCAA
is a gift, a dream.”
“We’re all really excited because it’s a great
opportunity to play in collegiate women’s water polo on the
biggest stage,” Redland’s coach Tom Whittemore
said.
As for UCLA, Krikorian is not worried about having to play an
extra game against an at-large team such as Hawai’i. Instead,
he relishes the possible opportunity of facing such teams.
“We have the mentality that we are one of the best of
teams out there, and to win we have to beat the best,”
Krikorian said. “That’s the only way we’ll know
we earned it for real.”