# 2021 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship

The 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was the 19th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the annual tournament to decide the championship of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament was held May 14–16, 2021, at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, California, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

## Qualifying teams

The field of teams was revealed in a selection show on May 3, 2021. Seven conferences were granted automatic qualification to the championship: the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Western Water Polo Association. Three additional teams gained entry into the tournament with at-large bids, with all of them coming from the MPSF.
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth |
| 4 | Arizona State | MPSF | 13–11 | At-large |
| | Cal Lutheran | SCIAC | 7–0 | Automatic |
| | Fresno State | Golden Coast | 12–5 | Automatic |
| | Hawaii | Big West | 11–1 | Automatic |
| | Marist | MAAC | 8–0 | Automatic |
| | Michigan | CWPA | 21–4 | Automatic |
| | Salem | WWPA | 18–11 | Automatic |
| 2 | Stanford | MPSF | 12–5 | At-large |
| 3 | UCLA | MPSF | 13–4 | At-large |
| 1 | USC | MPSF | 19–1 | Automatic |

## Schedule and results

All times Pacific (UTC-07:00).
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | TV |
| First Round – Wednesday, May 12 ||||||
| 1 | 11:00 a.m. | Marist vs. Salem | 9–8 | P12+ UCLA |
| 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Fresno State vs. Cal Lutheran | 15–7 | P12+ UCLA |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, May 14 ||||||
| 3 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 1 USC vs. Marist | 24–5 | NCAA.com |
| 4 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 4 Arizona State vs. Michigan | 9–5 | NCAA.com |
| 5 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 2 Stanford vs. Fresno State | 16–9 | NCAA.com |
| 6 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 3 UCLA vs. Hawaii | 12–7 | NCAA.com |
| Semifinals – Saturday, May 15 ||||||
| 7 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 1 USC vs. No. 4 Arizona State | 10–4 | NCAA.com |
| 8 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 UCLA | 7–9 | NCAA.com |
| Championship – Sunday, May 16 ||||||
| 9 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 1 USC vs. No. 3 UCLA | 18-9 | NCAA.com |

## Tournament bracket

| Play–in games Tuesday, May 12, 2021 | Play–in games Tuesday, May 12, 2021 | Play–in games Tuesday, May 12, 2021 | Quarterfinals Friday, May 14, 2021 | Quarterfinals Friday, May 14, 2021 | Quarterfinals Friday, May 14, 2021 | Semifinals Saturday, May 15, 2021 | Semifinals Saturday, May 15, 2021 | Semifinals Saturday, May 15, 2021 | Championship Sunday, May 16, 2021 | Championship Sunday, May 16, 2021 | Championship Sunday, May 16, 2021 |
| | | | 1 | USC | 24 | | | | | | |
| Marist | Marist | 9 | | Marist | 5 | | | | | | |
| Salem | Salem | 8 | | | | 1 | USC | 10 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Arizona State | 4 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Arizona State | 9 | | | | | | |
| | | | | Michigan | 5 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | USC | 18 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | UCLA | 9 |
| | | | 2 | Stanford | 16 | | | | | | |
| Fresno State | Fresno State | 15 | | Fresno State | 9 | | | | | | |
| Cal Lutheran | Cal Lutheran | 7 | | | | 2 | Stanford | 7 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | UCLA | 9 | | | |
| | | | 3 | UCLA | 12 | | | | | | |
| | | | | Hawaii | 7 | | | | | | |

## Game summaries
### Opening round

| May 12, 2021 11:00 a.m. | Marist | 9–8 | Salem | Spieker Aquatics Center – Los Angeles, California Referees: Gary Hull, Peter Sophabmixay |
| Spieker Aquatics Center – Los Angeles, California Referees: Gary Hull, Peter Sophabmixay |||
| May 12, 2021 1:00 p.m. | Fresno State | 15–7 | Cal Lutheran | Spieker Aquatics Center – Los Angeles, California Referees: Mike Stuart, Jennifer McCall |
| Spieker Aquatics Center – Los Angeles, California Referees: Mike Stuart, Jennifer McCall |||