BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) goes into the archives of the United States Naval Academy for a men’s game pitting the Midshipmen against the Lions of Loyola Marymount University in the Third Place game of the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship hosted by Stanford University.
The game occurred on Sunday, December 2, 2007, at the Avery Aquatic Center as Navy topped LMU, 7-6, to claim the highest finish at the NCAA by an East Coast team in men’s water polo. Further, the win capped the most-successful season in school history for the Navy water polo program which ended the year with a 30-6 record.
The win was the first for an East coast team in the NCAA Tournament since 2002, and the first for the Navy program since 1994. Navy had not defeated a California team in the NCAA Tournament, since winning the Seventh Place match against the University of California-San Diego, 20-17, in 1993. In addition, it was Navy’s first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1995.
