The 1991 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 23rd 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 1991.
California defeated UCLA in the final, 7–6, to win their tenth, and second consecutive, national title. Coached by Steve Heaston, the Golden Bears finished the season 26–1.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was, for the second straight year, Chris Humbert from California. Humbert, along with six other players, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament's leading scorer, with 11 goals, was Steve Gill from UC Irvine.
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. This was the first time that two non-Division I programs (Slippery Rock and UC San Diego) qualified for the same tournament.
Team Appearance PreviousCalifornia18th1990UC Irvine19th1989UC San Diego2nd1989Long Beach State12th1989Navy6th1990Pepperdine9th1990Slippery Rock2nd1983UCLA19th1990
Bracket Site: Belmont Plaza Pool, Long Beach, California
All-tournament team Chris Humbert, California (Most outstanding player) Jason Brown, UC San Diego Mike Burke, Long Beach State Geoffrey Clark, Pepperdine Steve Gill, UC Irvine Dan Hackett, UCLA Oliver Will, UCLA
See also NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
References