April 24, 1998

STANFORD, Calif. - Top seeds UCLA, Stanford and California each won its respective brackets today at the 1998 Women's Water Polo Western Regionals to advance to the semifinals, while Hawaii is just one win away from joining completing the Final Four. All four teams, which went 2-0 on opening day, have ensured itselves a top seven placing and a berth in the Collegiate National Championships, which will be held May 8-10 at USC.

Top-ranked and two-time defending national champion UCLA improved to 29-1 on the season and ran its winning streak to 20 games with convincing 16-1 and 13-2 wins over UC Davis and UC San Diego, respectively. Second-ranked Stanford cruised past Pacific 12-4 in the tourney's opening game before closing out with a hard-fought 9-7 win over SDSU. California also cruised in its first game, defeating Bay Area rival San Jose State 13-3 before downing UC Santa Barbara 7-1. Hawaii also won its first two games - 13-3 over Long Beach State and 7-5 over USC - but needs one more win to advance due to its placement in the only four-team bracket. Hawaii and Washington will meet tomorrow at 12:40 p.m. to decide the final spot in the semifinals.

The tournament, hosted by Stanford, resumes tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. in de Guerre Pool with San Jose State taking on UC Santa Barbara. Stanford and Cal will meet at 3:40 p.m. to decide which team will advance to the championship game while UCLA will meet the Hawaii-Washington winner at 6:00 p.m. in the other semifinal.

The Western Region, the strongest in the nation, sends seven teams to the Collegiate National Championships where they will join two from the Midwest and three from the East to determine the national champion.

Day One Results:

    1.  Stanford d. Pacific     12-4
    2.  California d. San Jose State    13-3
    3.  Hawaii d. Long Beach State 13-3
    4.  USC d. Washington   10-2
    5.  UCLA d. UC Davis    16-1
    6.  Stanford d. San Diego State 9-7
    7.  California d. UC Santa Barbara  7-1
    8.  Washington d. Long Beach State  10-7
    9.  Hawaii d. USC  7-5
   10.  UCLA d. UC San Diego    13-2