No. 17 Wagner Faces No. 12 UC San Diego in Opening Round of 2018 NCAA Water Polo Championship
NCAA Bracket
EDISON, NJ – No. 17 Wagner College (24-6) takes on No. 12 UC San Diego (24-11) in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Water Polo Championship on Tuesday, May 8, at 10 p.m. (ET). The game will be played at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, CA on the campus of the University of Southern California and will be streamed live
here.
The Seahawks and Tritons are set to go head-to-head in the opening round of the NCAA Water Polo Championship for the second year in a row. Wagner edged UC San Diego in the 2017 opening round, 6-5. The win marked the first national postseason victory for the Seahawks.
The winner of the opening round game advances to take on No. 1 USC on Friday, May 11, at 3 p.m. (ET) in the first round.
Wagner defeated No. 23 Marist College (20-17), 10-7, to claim its fifth-straight MAAC Water Polo Championship on Sunday, April 29. With the win the Seahawks earned the leagues’ automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Six of Wagner’s eight MAAC Championship title game victories have come against Marist (2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2007). The eight MAAC Championships are a conference record. Since April 12, 2015, the Seahawks are 44-0 against league foes.
The Seahawks are making their league-high seventh-trip to the NCAA Championship. Wagner has compiled a (1-10) mark in 11 NCAA Tournament contests.
Wagner senior utility Kimberly Watson was named the 2018 MAAC Water Polo Offensive Player of the Year and earned the Championship MVP. Watson has received both of those honors each of the last two seasons. The senior was also a unanimous selection to the All-MAAC First Team. Watson led the conference in points (154), ranked second in goals (106), third in assists (48), and first in sprints won (74).
Junior attack Erica Hardy joined Watson as a unanimous selection on the All-MAAC First Team. Hardy ranked second in the MAAC in points (142), fifth in goals (82), second in assists (60), and fourth in steals (76). Senior attack Elise Begg earned All-MAAC Second Team honors. Begg was tied for sixth in the league in assists (36) and tied for 10
th in steals (47).
Head coach Chris Radmonovich was named the BSN Sports MAAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his tenure.
For more information on the 2018 NCAA Water Polo Championship, visit
here.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.