[Treefence]

It would be a travesty if only the winner of the MPSF qualified for the NCAAs.  The top 4 ranked teams are Cal, UCLA, Stanford, and USC.  We beat Cal and USC. Cal and USC beat UCLA.  UCLA beat us and USC.  It's crazy, but it shows that any of these 4 teams are capable of winning it all. The NCAA water polo NC is only a 6 team bracket.  I'm not sure how they fill the bracket, but you can rest assured that at least one, and probably 2, of the top 4 ranked water polo teams are going to be left out.  

Let's just hope that our last two matches are the start of an upward trajectory in the quality of our play.   In the last 2 matches we have outscored our opponents 32-19.  

And yet the championship structure is very clear....No at-large bids.
So unless a conference elects not to send an AQ, there will only be one MPSF representative.

https://collegiatewaterpolo.org/national...20Stanford

https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2...ips-spring

Men’s water polo
The finals site is scheduled for March 20-21, with a six-team bracket. All six teams will be automatic qualifiers.

I could be wrong on this, but it seems in men's water polo particularly, they really try to screw the MPSF.  Last season, having USC and Stanford in the semis was ridiculous, even with the sport being more balanced than usual. Only 3 times in the entire history has a school not named Stanford, UCLA, USC, or UC Berkley won the tournament, and it hasn't happened since 1997 when Pepperdine won in OT.  I get striving for balance in a sport, but synthetically trying to create balance by rigging the tournament format, is not the way...

[Treefence]

It would be a travesty if only the winner of the MPSF qualified for the NCAAs.  The top 4 ranked teams are Cal, UCLA, Stanford, and USC.  We beat Cal and USC. Cal and USC beat UCLA.  UCLA beat us and USC.  It's crazy, but it shows that any of these 4 teams are capable of winning it all. The NCAA water polo NC is only a 6 team bracket.  I'm not sure how they fill the bracket, but you can rest assured that at least one, and probably 2, of the top 4 ranked water polo teams are going to be left out.  

Let's just hope that our last two matches are the start of an upward trajectory in the quality of our play.   In the last 2 matches we have outscored our opponents 32-19.  

And yet the championship structure is very clear....No at-large bids.
So unless a conference elects not to send an AQ, there will only be one MPSF representative.

https://collegiatewaterpolo.org/national...20Stanford

https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2...ips-spring

Men’s water polo
The finals site is scheduled for March 20-21, with a six-team bracket. All six teams will be automatic qualifiers.

I could be wrong on this, but it seems in men's water polo particularly, they really try to screw the MPSF.  Last season, having USC and Stanford in the semis was ridiculous, even with the sport being more balanced than usual. Only 3 times in the entire history has a school not named Stanford, UCLA, USC, or UC Berkley won the tournament, and it hasn't happened since 1997 when Pepperdine won in OT.  I get striving for balance in a sport, but synthetically trying to create balance by rigging the tournament format, is not the way...