Bruins vs. Trojans: Was There REALLY Any Other Way to end the 2021 Women’s Water Polo Season?
In what has been a crazy year for all sports, including water polo, that the final contest of the 2021 women’s collegiate season is a rivalry match seems fitting. #1 USC (21-1; MPSF champion) versus cross LA rival #3 UCLA (15-4; at large berth) today at 6 p.m. EDT is as good as it gets in any sport—beach volleyball, football, tennis… except basketball; no one can top the Bruins’ 11 titles, including seven straight from 1967-73.
And especially water polo, most recognized as a Californian pastime.
The Trojan and Bruin men have met in seven NCAA polo finals, with UCLA winning four times, including the 2021 title just last March.
On the women’s side, there have been three previous NCAA final meetings between Bruins and Trojans; (2006, 2008, 2009); UCLA has won them all.
Marko Pintaric with the women of Troy. Photo: USC Athletics / Jenny Chuang
With COVID restrictions, teams either not playing—Brown, Harvard, Princeton of the Ivies, Wagner the dominant MAAC team—dropping out mid-season, which is what happened to the UC Santa Barbara women, or right before their conference tournament (LIU, top seed in the MAAC) it’s been challenging to grasp how this particular season would end.
[Commentary: LIU Water Polo Withdrawal from MAAC Championships Another COVID-19 Casualty]
Sort of; all four Mountain Pacific Sports Federation entries to NCAAs made it to the semifinals, a repeat of the MPSF championships two weeks ago. The only mystery was which teams would advance to the final, an all-MPSF affair since 2004, the first (and only) time a non-MPSF team challenged for a national title since the NCAA sanctioned a women’s championship in 2001.
Yesterday the Trojans fell behind early (by a goal) then roared to a 10-4 win over Arizona State in the first semifinal at Spieker Aquatic Center. In the nightcap, second seeded Stanford got behind by three goals in the first period and never caught up. The host Bruins held on for a 9-7 win and a 11th trip to the NCAA finals, where they are 7-3.
Overall, the Bruins have captured 11 national championships, including four prior to 2001. The Trojans have won six; they were champs in 1999.
This is the first NCAA title match between UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright and Marko Pintaric, the USC coach. Now in his third year leading UCLA’s men’s and women’s programs—he’s been the men’s coach since 2009—Wright has won a total of six championships for the Bruins; 1999 and 2000 as a player and 2014, 2015, 2017and 2021 leading the men’s team. It’s his first NCAA final leading the women after third place finishes his first two years.
Adam Wright with his Bruins. Photo: Minette Rubin
Pintaric has a men’s NCAA title in 1998 as a player, a season when he faced Wright’s Bruins twice, splitting the matches. For two decades he was a top assistant to USC coach Jovan Vavic, during which time the Trojans collected 15 more national championships—nine for the men and five for the women.
Overall 52-35 UCLA has the edge in meetings, but the last four season it’s been (almost) all Trojans. They’ve compiled an 8-3 record versus their biggest rival.
The Bruins did tag the Trojans with their only loss this season, a 13-6 decision on April 25. They are one of only three teams to hold USC to single digits in goals scored in 2021. The others are Arizona State and Stanford.
Did I mention that this final will be held at Spieker Aquatic Center, the Bruin’s home pool? And, the NCAA reversed an earlier decision banning fans in the Spieker stands. A limited number of tickets will be made available to player families, making for a more festive atmosphere (though nothing like past meetings between these two teams).
To watch the match, which will be streamed live by the NCAA, please click on this link.