{"id":339830,"date":"2018-11-29T07:08:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T14:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=339830"},"modified":"2018-12-03T15:10:23","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T22:10:23","slug":"50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Dettamanti on 50 Years of NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men\u2019s water polo tournament will celebrate its golden anniversary this weekend, with the national championship<\/a> being held at Stanford\u2019s Avery Aquatic Center. Looking back at the history<\/a> of the country\u2019s most prestigious polo tournament, Swimming World contacted Dante Dettamanti<\/strong>, who is among the greatest coaches in the history of the sport.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ncaa-logo-50years\"<\/p>\n

With an overall record of 666-209-6 in 32 years leading Occidental, UC Santa Barbara and Stanford, \u201cCoach D\u201d\u2014as he\u2019s now known\u2014enjoyed unparalleled success leading the Cardinal from 1977 \u2013 2001. During a 25-year career on The Farm, Dettamanti\u2019s teams hoisted championship hardware eight times. He is the only coach in NCAA history to win championships in four different decades.<\/em><\/p>\n

Coincidentally, Dettamanti was on the scene at the very first national championship; while pursuing a <\/em>master’s degree in exercise physiology, he served<\/em> as a graduate assistant on the UCLA men\u2019s water polo staff<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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1969 UCLA Bruins, 1st NCAA Champions. Photo Courtesy: UCLA Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

The very first NCAA water polo final was on November 30, 1969, when Bob Horn\u2019s<\/strong> UCLA men dispatched UC-Berkeley 5-2 to complete an unbeaten campaign (19-0)\u2014the Bruins\u2019 fourth in five years. Anchored by attacker Jim Ferguson<\/strong> (1968 and 1972 Olympian), Torrey Webb<\/strong> at center, and Kevin Craig<\/strong> in goal, the win in the newly created national championship was the culmination of a five-year period where the Bruins went a combined 76-5.<\/p>\n

– Dettamanti on five decades of NCAA polo championships:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Considered the \u201cFather of NCAA Water Polo,\u201d Horn\u2019s teams in the 60\u2019s consisted of multiple Olympians\u2014making it entirely appropriate that UCLA won that very first title. In the early years, UCLA and UC Irvine were the powerhouse teams, followed by Cal in the early 70\u2019s, Stanford in the early 80\u2019s. UCLA in the 90\u2019s and now USC in the 21st Century. <\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

[A Timeline of The NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Championship]<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Southern Cal was always a factor in those early days; but it took thirty years for the first Trojan national championship in 1998. Since 2002, USC, UCLA and Cal have continued to win championships. Stanford has remained in the running; but has been without a title since 2002. This year, the host Cardinal are favored as the tournament\u2019s number one seed.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bob Horn (right) with the undefeated 1966 Bruins. Photo Courtesy: UCLA Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

After that first title, the Bruins would enjoy continued success, winning back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972. However, these would be the last championships of the Bob Horn era. His teams would endure the next 17 years without a title, finishing second a frustrating three times, including a 13-12 loss to Stanford in the 1976 championship match.<\/p>\n

UC Irvine took three overtimes to defeat UCLA 7-6 in the 1970 final, one of three UCI titles in the tournament\u2019s first two decades. The Anteaters were coached by the incomparable Ted Newland<\/strong>, who, as a USA National team coach during the Cold War, famously quipped: \u201cI would rather beat UCLA than the Russians.”<\/p>\n

Newland-led teams would win in 1982 and 1989, but UC Irvine would also finish second 6 times in those early years, with four-straight title match defeats from 1972 \u201375, including one-goal losses in 1974 and 1975 to Cal<\/p>\n

\"1989-uci-champs-ncaa50\"

The 1989 Anteaters of UC Irvine, NCAA champs. Photo Courtesy: UC Irvine Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

The 1972 final was noteworthy because it was the first time in tournament history that the championship was played outside of California. The Armond H. Seidler Natatorium at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque hosted the eight-team field, which was the norm until the NCAA forced the tournament to contract to four teams from 1994 to 2012.<\/p>\n

\"newland-uci-ncaa50\"

Ted Newland. Photo Courtesy: UC Irvine Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

There have been five other non-California venues in the tournament\u2019s fifty years: Providence, RI (Brown University) in 1977; Indianapolis, IN (Indiana University) in 1989; Fort Lauderdale, FL at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex in 1997; Lewisburg, PA (Bucknell University) in 2005; and Princeton, NJ (Princeton University) in 2009.<\/p>\n

1973 saw the first championship by Cal, which has won more titles (14) than any other program; legendary head coach Pete Cutino<\/strong> was the coach for those early Golden Bear squads. The 1973 champs were powered by Peter Schnugg<\/strong>, named National Player of the Year (he\u2019s also uncle to current U.S. Women\u2019s Senior National Team member Maggie Steffens<\/strong>). By capturing titles in 1974 and 1975, Cal also became the first three-peat winner.<\/p>\n

The Cardinal, 1976 winners, were led by Art Lambert<\/strong>, two-time U.S. Men\u2019s Olympic coach in 1968 and 1972, who in three seasons produced 55 wins and one national championship\u2013setting a high bar of success for Dettamanti, who succeeded him in 1977. After leading UC Santa Barbara to NCAA appearances in 1974 and 1976\u2014including a one-goal semifinal loss to 1976 NCAA champs Stanford\u2014he jumped ship to The Farm.<\/p>\n

Dettamanti’s arrival ushered in the golden age of Stanford water polo. After Bay Area rival Cal beat UC Irvine in 1977, it was Stanford\u2019s turn to shine in 1978.<\/p>\n

– Dettamanti on those early years with Stanford water polo:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I arrived at Stanford in 1977, placed third to Cal and UCI in the \u201877 NCAAs, then won the NCAAs in \u201878 with three freshmen\u2014future Olympians Jody Campbell<\/strong>, Alan Mouchawar<\/strong>, as well as outstanding goalie John Gansel<\/strong>\u2014and three seniors: Doug Burke<\/strong> (Olympian in \u201884), Tom Angelo<\/strong> and Robby Arnold<\/strong>. Cal had outstanding players in Olympian Kevin Robertson<\/strong> and Carlos Steffens<\/strong>, father of Maggie and Jessica Steffens who played for USA. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"stanford-ncaa-78-ncaa50\"

The 1978 Stanford team, NCAA champions. Photo Courtesy: D. Dettamanti<\/p><\/div>\n

We were losing by three goals when Mouchawar, a freshman, came off the bench and scored three goals to send the game into overtime. In the sudden death 3rd OT period, Burke scored on a counter off a feed from Mouchawar to win the game. <\/em><\/p>\n

We went on to win in \u201880 and \u201881 with future Olympian Jamie Bergeson<\/strong>, who joined the team in \u201879, then placed second in \u201882 to UC Irvine. That year\u2019s All-Tournament team featured Peter Campbell<\/strong> and future Stanford men\u2019s coach John Vargas<\/strong> from UCI, and future Stanford women\u2019s head coach John Tanner<\/strong> for the Cardinal.<\/em><\/p>\n

UCSB\u2019s 11-3 win represented one of the more lopsided defeats in finals history. Only Stanford\u2019s 17-6 demolition of Long Beach State in 1981 and UCLA\u2019s 11-2 win over UC San Diego in 2000 were more one-sided.<\/p>\n

\"cutino-cal-ncaa50\"

Cal Coach Pete Cutino. Photo Courtesy: Cal Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Dettamanti found his home and authored a passionate rivalry with Coach Cutino\u2014who also won eight NCAA titles and for whom the prestigious Peter Cutino Award for the Outstanding Collegiate water polo player is named. During the period from 1976 to 1989\u2014when Cutino and Dettamanti coached at the same time\u2014Stanford won 6 titles and Cal won 5.<\/p>\n

But the Cal vs. Stanford rivalry is bigger than these two legendary coaches. From 1973 to 1994 (22 years), either Stanford or Cal, or both were in every NCAA championship game except one; the 1979, match between UCSB and UCLA. Stanford (8) and Cal (11) combined for 19 of the 22 championships contested during that period. The two schools\u2014who now annually hold \u201cThe Big Splash\u201d as their regular season-ending contest\u2014have met seven times in the NCAA final, with the Cardinal holding a 4-3 title edge.<\/p>\n

Stanford and Cal played the two longest NCAA finals, both going to a third and decisive overtime. The Cardinal topped the Golden Bears 7-6 in 1976 for their first title; in 1992, Cal outlasted Stanford 12-11 to complete its only perfect season (31-0); the final title of one of the most dominant spans of NCAA history. Steve Heaton\u2019s <\/strong>team went a combined 86-2 from 1990 \u2013 1992, capturing three-straight crowns. A pair of Chrises\u2014Humbert<\/strong> and Oeding<\/strong>\u2014powered Cal during that impressive run.<\/p>\n

\"1988-everist-cal-ncaa50\"

Cal’s Kirk Everist in 1988. Photo Courtesy: Cal Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

During the 80s, Cal and Stanford each took four titles, but as the decade ended so did their era of dominance. Guy Baker\u2019s<\/strong> arrival at UCLA in 1991 ushered in new era of prosperity for the Bruins; after losing to Cal in 1991, Baker\u2019s charges won back-to-back titles in 1995-1996 and, with co-coach Adam Krikorian<\/strong>, again in 1999-2000. Stanford racked up back-to-back wins in 1993-1994, but the two most significant events of the decade were a final win by Pepperdine in 1997 under coach and Olympic great Terry Schroeder<\/strong> \u2014the last win by a non-Pac 12 member\u2014and the triumphant rise of the Trojans of USC.<\/p>\n

Before 1993, Southern Cal had two appearances in the national title match; both were losses to Cal\u201410-7 in 1983 and 9-8 (OT) in 1987. Since 1993, the Trojans have appeared more times\u201418\u2014than any other team; overall USC has 21 finals appearances, trailed by UCLA\u2019s 20; Cal tops them both with 22 appearances. Their record of success (including 1987): nine titles and 12 second place finishes.<\/p>\n

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USC’s Jovan Vavic. Photo Courtesy: USC Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

After whiffing on their first six finals appearances, the Trojans finally broke through in 1998 with a 9-8 double overtime victory against the Cardinal. Jovan Vavic<\/strong> and John Williams<\/strong>\u2014the long-time USC coach\u2014were co-coaches that year but it\u2019s Vavic, who has now become synonymous with Southern Cal\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

– Dettamanti on the 1998 loss to USC, and the beginning of the Trojan dynasty:<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, it was a bitter dark and cold night game under the lights at Corona Del Mar that went in overtime. That was back when the 2-point shot rule for goals scored outside 7 meters was in effect. We were leading USC by one goal in the second overtime when we had an ejection at 2-meters. Marko Pintaric<\/strong> (current USC assistant coach) scored a two-point shot on the extra man from 8 meters out to win the game. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"pintaric-usc-ncaa50\"

Marko Pintaric<\/p><\/div>\n

Jovan, who grew up and played water polo in <\/em>Montenegro,<\/em> changed the game as the first coach to start recruiting foreign players from the Balkan countries of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and\u2014in recent years\u2014Australia and Greece. In addition to rule changes favoring center play, the recruitment of foreign players, more than anything else, has changed the game of water polo in the USA.<\/em><\/p>\n

That match represented a passing of the guard; Stanford would win twice more in 2001\u2014the last ever title for Dettamanti\u2014and 2002, the first title for Vargas, his successor as Cardinal coach. Both teams were led by Tony Azevedo<\/strong>, who would also lead the Cardinal to second place finishes in 2003 and 2004.<\/p>\n

– Dettamanti on what made Azevedo, the only four-time Cutino Award winner, so great:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great shooter, great passer, great driver, great awareness of the game. Probably the greatest to ever play in the USA.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"azevedo_stanford\"

Tony Azevedo. Photo Courtesy: Stanford Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Led by Vavic, who has won more NCAA hardware (9) than any other coach in men\u2019s water polo history, since 2005, USC has fashioned one of the more remarkable streaks in NCAA water polo history; appearances in 13 straight title games. During this stretch the Trojans have won seven titles; from 2008 \u2013 2013 they won an unprecedented six straight national championships.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most thrilling Trojan win was in 2012, when\u2014hosting the final in their home pool, what was then the McDonald\u2019s Swim Stadium\u2014Kostas <\/strong>Genidounias<\/strong> hit the winner with 40 seconds left to beat arch-rival UCLA and complete a perfect 29-0 season.<\/p>\n

The 2013 final saw University of Pacific, powered by three-time Cutino Award winner Balazs Erdelyi,<\/strong> become the first non-Pac 12 finalist since UC San Diego in 2000. The Tigers could not overcome the Trojans, squandering a late lead and losing 12-11 in overtime. The win was the last of UCS\u2019s impressive streak; in 2014 the Bruins won 9-8 over the Trojans and then again in 2015, with a 10-7 victory that completed a perfect (30-0) season.<\/p>\n

\"wright-hardware-DEC17\"

UCLA’s Adam Wright sporting some NCAA hardware after 2017 final. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne<\/p><\/div>\n

As the championship\u2019s fifth decade drew to a close, Cal\u2014coached by Kirk Everist<\/strong>, who won titles as a Golden Bear in 1987 and 1988\u2014surprised USC in 2016 for its record-setting 14 title and UCLA captured the 2017 title<\/a>, the Bruins\u2019 11th overall. Head Coach Adam Wright<\/strong>\u00a0has had a hand in five of those titles\u2014two as a player and three as a coach.<\/p>\n

– Dettamanti on how much the game has changed in the five decades since that first title match:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Besides the recruitment of foreign players (except for Stanford), the game has changed to more of a static zone oriented game that depends on exclusions at 2-meters and good outside shooting, in comparison to the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s with more emphasis on driving and counterattack. <\/em><\/p>\n

The game back then depended on smaller (under 6\u2019) who could drive and maneuver to get a shot off, while in today\u2019s game most of the players are well over six feet tall, and rely on length and strength to shoot from the perimeter and block shots on defense. The center-forward game, has also changed from a player who could shoot and pass to drivers, to the main role today of drawing exclusion fouls. Another big difference in recent years is that the pool length was reduced from 30 meters to 25 meters, again making counterattacks more difficult to execute. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"dettamanti-oct18\"

Dante Dettamanti coaching at Stanford. Photo Courtesy: Stanford Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Going from an eight-team tournament to a four-team tournament changed the whole qualifying system, making it extremely competitive to receive a bid. League championships become essential in the qualifying process, making them more competitive than the actual NCAA championship itself. <\/em><\/p>\n

The MPSF championship was especially brutal, as it usually consisted of the top eight teams in the country; but only two of those eight were allowed to attend the NCAA Championship.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men\u2019s water polo tournament will celebrate its golden anniversary this weekend, with the national championship being held at Stanford\u2019s Avery Aquatic Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":339842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[72690,70664,3384,383,12125,72595,72599,62653,20140,63511,72603,477,556,70694,1190,72600,20138,1756,72596,72604,72598,12123,72606,12126,1317,479,2764,2763,72594,54940,7060,72608,39337,378,60192,19654,65966,72605,72597,72602,60272,72607,17707,382,72601,3671,72593,66517,66046,61959],"class_list":["post-339830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-2018-mens-water-polo-tournament","tag-2018-ncaa-mens-water-polo-tournament","tag-adam-krikorian","tag-adam-wright","tag-alan-mouchawar","tag-armond-h-seidler-natatorium","tag-art-lambert","tag-balazs-erdelyi","tag-bob-horn","tag-cal-water-polo","tag-carlos-steffens","tag-chris-humbert","tag-chris-oeding","tag-craig-wilson","tag-dante-dettamanti","tag-doug-burke","tag-greg-boyer","tag-guy-baker","tag-international-swimming-hall-of-fame-aquatics-complex","tag-jamie-bergeson","tag-jessica-steffens","tag-jody-campbell","tag-john-dobrott","tag-john-gansel","tag-john-tanner","tag-john-vargas","tag-john-williams","tag-jovan-vavic","tag-kevin-craig","tag-kevin-robertson","tag-kirk-everist","tag-kostas-genidounias","tag-maggie-steffens","tag-marko-pintaric","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-pete-cutino","tag-pete-snyder","tag-peter-campbell","tag-peter-schnugg","tag-robby-arnold","tag-stanford-water-polo","tag-steve-heaton","tag-ted-newland","tag-terry-schroeder","tag-tom-angelo","tag-tony-azevedo","tag-torrey-webb","tag-uc-irvine-water-polo","tag-uc-san-diego-water-polo","tag-ucla-water-polo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nDettamanti on 50 Years of NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Championships - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NCAA Men's Water Polo tournament is 50! 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Swimming World asked Dante Dettamanti to talk about\u00a0the national championship's\u00a0history\u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-29T14:08:03+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-03T22:10:23+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/1992-cal-ncaa-champs-ncaa50.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"949\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\"},\"headline\":\"Dettamanti on 50 Years of NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Championships\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-29T14:08:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-03T22:10:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/\"},\"wordCount\":2358,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/50-years-of-ncaa-mens-water-polo-championships\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/1992-cal-ncaa-champs-ncaa50.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2018 Men's Water Polo Tournament\",\"2018 NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Tournament\",\"Adam Krikorian\",\"Adam Wright\",\"Alan Mouchawar\",\"Armond H. 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The team that Dettamanti helped assemble at UCSB took the 1979 title over UCLA. Led by New York City native Greg Boyer<\/strong>, John Dobrott <\/strong>and 3-time Olympic goalie Craig Wilson <\/strong>(1984, 1988, 1992)\u2014and coached by Pete Snyder<\/strong>\u2014the Gauchos delivered the school\u2019s first-ever NCAA title<\/a>.<\/p>\n