April 28, 2006

DAVIS, Calif. - CSTV will announce the eight teams participating in the 2006 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships along with tournament seeds in a selection show to be aired at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1. The championships will be hosted by UC Davis at the Schaal Aquatics Center on May 12-14.

Berths will be awarded to one automatic qualifier from each of the following conferences: Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining three teams will be awarded berths through an at-large selection process.

The women's tournament, which is in only its second year as an eight-team tournament, will feature teams from Divisions I, II and III and is a single-elimination tournament with a bracket format used to determine 1st through 12th places.

The tournament will begin on Friday, May 12 with four first-round games beginning at 3 p.m. Four second round games will begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday and on Sunday games are scheduled for noon (7th place), 1:30 p.m. (5th place), 3 p.m. (3rd place) and 5 p.m. (championship). The championship game will also be broadcast live on CSTV.

Tickets for the tournament are still available, but the event is expected to sell out. Ticket information is available through the UC Davis Ticket Office at (530) 752-1915.

The UC Davis women's water polo team is participating in the WWPA conference tournament this weekend at UC San Diego. The Aggies received the No. 2 seed into the tournament, behind Loyola Marymount. The winner of this weekend's tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA championships.

CSTV (College Sports Television) is available via local cable and satellite providers. Check your local listings for channels.