Nov. 20, 2002

San Diego, CA (Nov. 20) -- The field and the pairings have been determined for the 2002 Western Water Polo Association Men's Water Polo Championship, to be held at Canyonview Pool on the campus of UC San Diego this Friday and Saturday. Loyola Marymount, the defending champs, have received the number two seed.

The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the eight-team tournament will both take place on Friday, with eight games being played in all, throughout the day. The four placement games will be contested on Saturday. The 2002 WWPA Championship Game is scheduled for 4:30 PM on Saturday, with the winner gaining automatic entrance into the four-team NCAA Championship in Los Angeles on December 7-8.

Loyola Marymount (15-14), the defending WWPA champions and #2 seed this year, will open play on one side of the bracket against seventh-seeded Redlands (16-11) at 8:30 AM on Friday. Third-seeded BYU-Hawaii (15-9)will follow against sixth-seeded UC Davis (17-11) at 10:00 AM. The losers of these games will meet at 3:30 PM on Friday and the winners at 6:30 PM that night.

On the other side of the bracket, the top-seeded host Tritons (16-11)will take on eighth-seeded La Verne (18-7) at 11:30 AM on Friday to begin its quest for a 13th league title and a ninth NCAA Championship appearance. The Tritons have not met the Leopards yet this season. The quarterfinal round will conclude with fourth-seeded Air Force (14-11)taking on #5 Chaminade (10-7) of Hawaii at 1:00 PM. The two losers of these games will face each other at 5:00 PM with the winners concluding play on day one in semifinal action at 8:00 PM.

Saturday's slate will include the Seventh Place Game at noon, the Fifth Place Game at 1:30 PM and the Third Place Game at 3:00 PM. The Championship Game at 4:30 PM will be followed by the trophy presentation and announcement of the 2002 All-WWPA teams.

Loyola Marymount defeated UC San Diego, 4-2, at its home pool in Los Angeles in last year's title game, earning its first-ever WWPA crown and NCAA Championship berth.

Tickets for the WWPA Championship will go on sale at Canyonview Pool at 8:00 AM on Friday and 11:00 AM on Saturday. Prices are $15.00 for a two-day adult ticket, $10.00 for a one-day adult ticket, $5.00 for a single-day student ticket (with identification). All rounds of the tournament are free to UCSD students with identification and children under 12.

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