The 2005 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 37th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Kinney Natatorium at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania from December 3–4, 2005.[1][2]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | December 3–4, 2005 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | USC (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Stanford (19th title game) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 56 (14 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,656 (414 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Cutberto Hernandez, LMU (5) |
| Best player | Adam Shilling, USC Juraj Zatovic, USC |
USC defeated Stanford in the final, 3–2, the game winning goal scored by Pavol Valovic, to win their third national title. The Trojans (26–1) were coached by Jovan Vavic.[3]
The Most Outstanding Players of the tournament were Adam Shilling and Juraj Zatovic from USC. Additionally, two All-Tournament Teams were named: a First Team (with seven players including Shilling and Zatovic) and a Second Team (with eight players).
The tournament's leading scorer, with 5 goals, was Cutberto Hernandez from Loyola Marymount.
Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Loyola Marymount | 4th | 2004 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 1st | Never |
| USC | 20th | 2003 |
| Stanford | 28th | 2004 |
Bracket
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| 1 | USC | 14 | |||||||
| 4 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 8 | |||||||
| 1 | USC | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Stanford | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Stanford | 7 | |||||||
| 3 | Loyola Marymount | 6 | Third Place | ||||||
| 4 | St. Francis Brooklyn | 6 | |||||||
| 3 | Loyola Marymount | 10 | |||||||
All-tournament teams
First Team
- Adam Shilling, USC (Most outstanding player)
- Juraj Zatovic, USC (Most outstanding player)
- Juan Delgadillo, USC
- Thomas Hale, USC
- Thomas Hopkins, Stanford
- Endre Rex-Kiss, Loyola Marymount
- Peter Varellas, Stanford
Second Team
- Tommy Corcoran, USC
- Ian Elliott, Loyola Marymount
- Gergely Fabian, St. Francis Brooklyn
- J.J. Garton, Stanford
- Will Hindle-Katel, Stanford
- Sandy Hohener, Stanford
- Bogdon Petrovic, St. Francis Brooklyn
- Botond Szalma, St. Francis Brooklyn