2022 Women’s Division III National Collegiate Club Championship
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases a revised schedule of games for the 2022 Women’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship hosted by Middlebury College, located in Middlebury, Vt., on April 30-May 1.
Middlebury, which was slated to host the 2020 event prior to the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will serve as the site for the second women’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship following the inaugural event claimed by the Panthers in 2019 at Villanova University.
In 2019, eight teams competed for the crown at Villanova with Middlebury edging Washington University in St. Louis by a 14-11 score for the national championship.
In 2022, seven teams were slated for a trip to the Green Mountain State with eyes on capturing the Division III Club Championship.
However, New England Division representative Williams College informed the league office of their inability to attend the event and subsequently changing the format to a six-team, nine-game event.
Seeded based on the results of the 2019 championship, the 2022 event will still pit teams from both the West and East Coasts along with programs from the heartland of the nation.
Four teams are known for the championship as Washington University in St. Louis (Midwest Division), Carleton College (Heartland Division), Hamilton College (Mid-Atlantic Division) and the University of California-Santa Cruz (Sierra Pacific Division) will represent their respective divisions. Middlebury is guaranteed a spot in the field as either the host institution or the North Atlantic Division representative if the Panthers are the top finishing Division III program in the group.
One team remains unknown as either the North Atlantic Division Champion or North Atlantic Division runner-up if Middlebury claims the division crown will make the field.
The 2022 Women’s Division III Club Championship marks the third time Middlebury will host a Division III National Championship as the men’s club hosted the 2012 and 2017 men’s events. Further, it marks the second women’s collegiate club national championship in the Green Mountain State as the Panthers previously hosted the 2015 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship
