2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship

The 2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship was the first annual tournament to determine the national championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The single elimination tournament was played at the Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, California during May 2001.^[1]

2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship

Tournament details
Dates	May 2001
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	UCLA (1st title)
Runners-up	Stanford (1st title game)
Third place	Loyola Marymount
Fourth place	Brown
Tournament statistics
Matches played	3
Goals scored	51 (17 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Kelly Heuchan, UCLA (4)
Awards
Best player	Coralie Simmons, UCLA
2002 →

UCLA defeated Stanford in the final, 5–4, to win their first NCAA championship. The Bruins (19–4) were coached by Adam Krikorian. Krikorian also won a championship as the coach of UCLA's men's water polo team during the same 2000–01 season.

The leading scorer for the tournament was Kelly Heuchan, from UCLA, with 4 goals. First and second All Tournament Teams were also named, with seven players comprising the former (including the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Coralie Simmons from UCLA) and six for the latter.

Qualification

Since there has only ever been one single national championship for women's water polo, all NCAA women's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Brown	1st	Never
Loyola Marymount	1st	Never
Stanford	1st	Never
UCLA	1st	Never

Tournament bracket

• Site: Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California

	Semifinals					Championship
	UCLA		11
	Loyola Marymount		5
						UCLA		5
						Stanford		4
	Stanford		12
	Brown		0			Third Place
						Loyola Marymount		9
						Brown		5

All tournament teams

First Team

• Coralie Simmons, UCLA (Most Outstanding Player)
• Robin Beauregard, UCLA
• Kelly Heuchan, UCLA
• Jackie Frank, Stanford
• Ellen Estes, Stanford
• Brenda Villa, Stanford
• Lucy Windes, Loyola Marymount

Second Team

• Margie Dingeldein, Stanford
• Jamie Hipp, UCLA
• Elaine Zivich, UCLA
• Jamie Kroeze, Loyola Marymount
• Jenny Lamb, UCLA
• Kristin Guerin, UCLA

See also

• Pre-NCAA Intercollegiate Women's Water Polo Champions (tournaments from before NCAA sponsorship in 2001)
• NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship