Bears Land Spot In NCAA Championship

The No. 1 Cal men's water polo team earned one of the top two seeds for the 2021 NCAA Championship on Sunday night and will open play in the semifinals on Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. at UCLA's Spieker Aquatic Center against an opponent to be determined.

The Bears (20-4) are making their 31st appearance at the NCAA Championship and second in a row. Cal has won the most national titles in history with 14 crowns, most recently in 2016. The Bears advanced to the semifinals of the 2020 (2021) NCAA Championship.

Cal will play either UCLA, Princeton or Fordham in the semifinals, with the winner advancing to the NCAA championship match on Dec. 5.

The Bears won the MPSF regular season championship this season and feature conference Player of the Year Nikolaos Papanikolaou, Newcomer of the Year Roberto Valera and Coach of the Year Kirk Everist.