The 1972 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the fourth annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Armond H. Seidler Natatorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico during December 1972.
UCLA defeated UC Irvine in the final, 10–5, to win their third, and second consecutive, national title.
The leading scorer for the tournament was Jim Kruse from UC Irvine (31 goals). The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Eric Lindroth from UCLA. Additionally, an All-Tournament Team was named for the first time this year.
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 PreviousLoyola–Chicago1stNeverNew Mexico2nd1971San José State3rd1971UC Irvine4th1971UC Santa Barbara3rd1970USC3rd1970UCLA4th1971Yale2nd1969
Bracket Site: Armond H. Seidler Natatorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Championship Bracket
Consolation Bracket Winner advanced to the Second Place Final against the loser of the Championship.
All-tournament teams First team Eric Lindroth, UCLA (Most Outstanding Player) Bruce Black, UC Irvine Kevin Craig, UCLA Jack Dickmann, UC Irvine Brad Jackson, San José State Jim Kruse, UC Irvine Dennis Needleman, USC
Second team Garth Bergeson, UCLA Curt Caldwell, USC Greg Carey, UC Santa Barbara Lucky Linder, USC Scott Massey, UCLA Ed Samuels, San José State Steve Spencer, San José State
See also NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
References