COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Tournament Most Valuable Player Mia Barr (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) capped off a five goal output in the 2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship title game by lobbing a shot inside the left post with 2:39 left in a sudden victory period for the deciding factor as No. 1-ranked/Big Ten Division Champion/defending National Champion the University of Michigan went the distance to defeat No. 4/Pacific Coast Division Champion the University of California-Los Angeles.
Competing at Texas A&M University’s Student Rec Center, Michigan – which has now placed first (2023, 2024), second (2010, 2014, 2016), third (2007, 2011, 2015), fourth (2012, 2013, 2022) and seventh (2009) at the Women’s National Collegiate Club Chapionship – joins Michigan State University (2001-2002), California Polytechnic State University (2003-2005; 2008-2011) and the University of California-Davis (2012-2013; 2017-2018) as the only institutions to repeat as Women’s National Collegiate Club Champions in back-to-back seasons.
UCLA – which previously claimed fifth (2010), sixth (2008), seventh (2011) and ninth (2009, 2023) place finishes at Nationals – takes the program’s sixth Top 10 finish in as many appearances at the event.
Competing in the first sudden death overtime Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship title tilt since San Diego State University knocked off Michigan by an identical 10-9 count on Sunday, May 4, 2014, at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, neither team mustered more than a two goal lead throughout a back-and-forth contest that tested the resolve of both the Wolverines and Bruins.
Matalene Winters (Fr., Malibu, Calif.) gave UCLA the first lead by firing in a shot with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. The score ignited an offensive slugfest and defensive slog for the teams as Emma Kaipainen (So., Ann Arbor, Mich.) (3:03) and Barr (2:28) provided Michigan a 2-1 margin before Rachel Galvin (Fr., Napa, Calif.) balanced the scoreboard with a man-up strike with eight seconds left for a two-all tie after seven minutes.
Charley Jackson (Sr., Whittier, Calif.) staked UCLA to a 3-2 lead with 4:43 remaining in the second quarter prior to Claire Tuttle (Sr., Hudsonville, Mich.) responding with 2:19 until halftime to make it a three-all contest through 14 minutes.
The Wolverines appeared to gain some momentum in the third quarter as Kaipainen (5:41, man-up) and Barr (2:38) connected for consecutive goals, but Galvin (2:24) and Samantha DiMarco (Fr., Eugene, Ore.) (1:49) answered to square the squads at five-all.
Barr (36 seconds) and Galvin (one second, man-up) exchanged scores once more in the frame as the teams entered the fourth quarter deadlocked at six-all.
Barr struck again at the 5:13 mark of the fourth quarter to hand the Maize & Blue another one goal lead at 8-7. However, Meena Khan (Sr., Napa, Calif.) and Elizabeth Williams (Fr., Pleasanton, Calif.) turned the tables with twin tallies at 3:24 and 2:42, respectively, as the Bruins bared their claws to move within approximately two and two-thirds minutes of the programs’ first-ever Women’s National Collegiate Club title.
Kaipainen had other ideas as the Michigan sophomore proved herself a wise fool by firing in a frozen rope with 1:18 remaining in regulation to make it an eight-all contest.
Neither team was able to solve its opponent’s defense down the stretch to bring on a pair of three-minute overtime periods.
UCLA gained the early lead in OT as Winters tried to ice the championship by denting the twine with one minute left in the opening overtime frame. However, Kaipainen registered the equalizer with 33 seconds to go in the second OT period to force sudden victory in the National Championship game.
Following the seventh sprint victory in as many tries for Tuttle in the contest, the Wolverines concluded the title tilt as Barr lofted a shot from two meters out which fell next to the left post and trickled across the goal line before UCLA netminder Charlie Flores (Fr., Malibu, Calif.) could collect the loose ball for the deciding factor.
Galvin (three), Winters (two), DiMarco, Williams, Khan and Jackson combined for the Bruins nine goals with Flores making 11 saves.
For Michigan – which captured its inaugural National Championship in women’s water polo last year at UCLA by downing another Pacific Coast Division Champion in the University of California-Santa Barbara by an 8-6 score – Barr (five), Kaipainen (four) and Tuttle accounted for the victorious Maize & Blue, while Player of the Game Ava Dominick (Jr., Simi Valley, Calif.) made nine saves to keep her team in the contest from the opening sprint to Barr’s golden goal.
Following the championship, Barr was named Tournament Most Valuable Player and Michigan head coach David Abbott collected Coach of the Tournament accolades.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | OT1 | OT2 | SDOT1 | – | FINAL | |
| No. 4 University of California-Los Angeles |
2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 |
| No. 1 University of Michigan | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 10 |
| Michigan Goals: | Mia Barr (5); Emma Kaipainen (4); Claire Tuttle | ||||||||
| UCLA Goals: | Rachel Galvin (3); Matalene Winters (2); Samantha DiMarco; Elizabeth Williams; Meena Khan; Charley Jackson | ||||||||
| Saves: | Michigan – Ava Dominick (9) ; UCLA – Charlie Flores (11) | ||||||||
| Exclusions: | Michigan – 3 ; UCLA – 7 | ||||||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Michigan – 1-for-7 ; UCLA – 2-for-3 | ||||||||
| Sprints: | Michigan – 7-for-7 ; UCLA – 0-for-7 | ||||||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | ||||||||
| Officials: | Bruce Morehouse, John Rightmyer | ||||||||
University of Michgian’s Mia Barr (#22) lines up a shot as the University of California-Los Angeles’ Samantha DiMarco (#3) defends
University of California-Los Angeles’ Grayson Macleod (#14) fires a shot as the University of Michigan’s Zannah Baker (#4) attempts a field block
2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Most Valuable Player: Mia Barr (University of Michigan)
2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Runner-Up: The University of California-Los Angeles
2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Champion: The University of Michigan
2024 Women’s National Collegiate Club Champion: The University of Michigan
