Water Polo’s Final Four was thrilling and rewarding

Day 2 of the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championships. By Danielle Boyle Melman

As I sit here reflecting on the past weekend, I cannot help but think how lucky I am to have experienced the 2014 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Final Four Championships at my alma mater, UC San Diego, where I also work. Although this is my third water polo Final Four, this time was a little different. Before I begin to reflect on my personal experience as a Final Four spectator and worker, let’s get to the most important part: the results.

Both semi-final games were intense match-ups, but especially in the second game.

In semi-final number one, UC San Diego faced a very experienced and powerful UCLA team, where the Bruins prevailed 15-6. UC San Diego came out playing hard, ending the first quarter only down by 1. The second quarter was a different story: the Bruins had an explosive offense, outscoring UC San Diego 6-2 and leading 8-3 at the half. UCLA ultimately won 15-6, earning a trip to the championship game.

In Semi-Final number two, USC beat Stanford after two overtime periods and one sudden death period.

Stanford controlled the first half, leading 7-5. But the magic of USC kicked in. The Trojans outscored the Cardinal 3-1 in the third quarter, and tied the game up with 14 seconds left of regular time. Two overtime periods later, the score was still tied.

In collegiate water polo, after two three minute overtime periods, the game is decided by sudden death. With 5 seconds left of the first sudden death period, USC Senior Kostas Genidounias (Athens, Greece) scored from the outside to lift USC to a win, earning their 10^th trip in a row to the NCAA Final Championship game. I have seen a lot of water polo but this was one of the most exciting games I have ever watched.

The UCLA Bruins celebrating their 9th NCAA Men’s Water Polo championship. By Danielle Boyle Melman

The next day, Stanford had an easy time with UC San Diego in the third place game, winning 20-11. The championship game, however, did not fail to bring drama, intensity and a passion you only see in collegiate sports.

UCLA came out blazing for three solid quarters, earning a three goal lead holding USC standout Genidounias to no goals.

But USC came blazing into the fourth quarter, scoring three goals in a row to tie the game. With 34 seconds remaining, and the score still tied, UCLA sophomore Gordon Marshall (Newcastle, Australia) fired a shot from inside to lift the Bruins to a 9-8 lead. Great UCLA defense on the next USC possession concluded the game, giving UCLA its ninth NCAA Men’s Water Polo title and 112^th NCAA championship in university history.

But intertwined with the crowning of the national champion, an NCAA National Championship weekend celebrates much more than the first place team. It honors the spirit of the student-athlete. It celebrates the sport and the community hosting the event. It recognizes the spectator, participant and volunteer. Everyone has the opportunity to share in the student-athletes playing for their teammates, for their university, for their families, for their high school, for their club coaches, and never for themselves. The student-athletes’ hearts are on out on display for all to experience  – and it is a feeling like none other.

UC San Diego Tritons take home a NCAA Men’s Water Polo 4th place finish. By Danielle Boyle Melman

Some of that emotion and heart is seen before the championship play even begins. In the spirit of the student-athlete, the National Championship Finals includes an award the NCAA hands out in every sport, in every division: the Elite 89 Award.

The Elite 89 Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average participating in the NCAA Championship Finals. There are 89 NCAA final championships; hence the 89. This year the NCAA honored Stanford junior BJ Churnside – an electrical engineering major holding a 3.786 GPA. Churnside not only excels in the classroom, but in the pool as well: he earned All-American accolades his freshman and sophomore year, and is ranked third on the team for goals this season. Churnside was celebrated at the student-athlete banquet Friday night, and it was a touching moment. Because this award truly embodies the spirit of the student-athlete, it was moving to see him honored in front of his peers and the water polo community. I couldn’t help but think – this is why I got into collegiate athletics.

That theme resonated with me throughout the whole weekend. I am so fortunate to be a part of the growth and development of young adults through collegiate athletics. Being an athletic administrator allows me to have a positive impact on our student-athletes, providing support and guidance through the highs and lows — almost reliving my collegiate career through the eyes of these athletes.

As the championship weekend came to a close, I couldn’t help but be so proud of all student-athletes who participated, my athletics department, UC San Diego and the community who came together to celebrate and champion the collegiate student-athlete!

It was a great collegiate season for men’s water polo and I enjoyed bringing my perspective of the game.  For those who are excited about their next, or first water polo game, you don’t have to wait a whole year for the men’s season to start back up…the women’s collegiate season is just around the corner with the first sprint in January!