1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

The 1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 19th 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 1987.^[1]

1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Tournament details
Dates	December 1987
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	California (7th title)
Runners-up	USC (2nd title game)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	234 (19.5 per match)
Attendance	4,398 (367 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Rafael Gandarillas, Pepperdine & Alexis Rousseau, UCLA (11)
Awards
Best player	Giacomo Rossi (USC)
← 1986 1988 →

California defeated USC in the final, 9–8 (in one overtime), to win their seventh national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 27–3.

The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Giacomo Rossi (USC). An All-Tournament Team of eight players was also named.

The tournament's leading scorers, with 12 goals each, were Rafael Gandarillas (Pepperdine) and Alexis Rousseau (UCLA)

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.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Brown	9th	1986
California	14th	1986
UC Irvine	16th	1985
Navy	3rd	1986
Pepperdine	6th	1986
USC	10th	1986
Stanford	15th	1986
UCLA	16th	1986

Bracket

• Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California

	Fifth place					Consolation semifinals					First round					Championship semifinals					Championship
											California		18
											Brown		3
						Brown		7								California		7
						Stanford		17								UC Irvine		3
											UC Irvine		8
											Stanford		6
	Stanford		12																		California (OT)		9
	Pepperdine (OT)		13																		USC		8
											UCLA		11
											Pepperdine		7
	Seventh place					Pepperdine		16								UCLA		11			Third place
						Navy		8								USC (OT)		12
	Brown		7								USC		17								UC Irvine		13
	Navy		6								Navy		5								UCLA		10

All-tournament team

• Giacomo Rossi, USC (Most outstanding player)
• Jeff Brush, California
• Fernando Carsalade, UCLA
• Kirk Everist, California
• Erich Fischer, Stanford
• Keith Leggett, USC
• Sasa Poljak, Pepperdine
• Alexis Rousseau, UCLA

See also

• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship