Dec. 8, 2002

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Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 8, 2002) - Sophomore Tony Azevedo scored four goals as Stanford University defeated the University of California Berkeley 7-6 to win the 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo National Championship on Sunday afternoon. Stanford won their second straight title in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,600 at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on the campus of Loyola Marymount University.

Stanford (24-5) claims their 10th men's water polo title with the win over California (20-7), who was trying for an NCAA best 12th title. It was the fifth meeting of the season between the two rivals, both winning two coming into the championship.

Stanford jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals by senior Peter Hudnut in the first period. California's Will Quist cut the lead to one with 3:11 remaining in the first frame.

Both teams exploded on offense in the second period, combining for seven goals. Stanford took a 3-1 lead on Azevedo's first of three consecutive goals at the 6:21 mark of the second quarter. Cal would tie the game at 3-3 with goals from Andrew Stoddard and Will Quist.

Azevedo, the tournament MVP, would score two more to put Stanford up 5-3. The Cardinal would add to the lead with an extra-man goal with 1:33 remaining in the half by Thomas Hopkins. Cal's Attila Banhidy would cut the lead to 6-4 with a goal at the 1:16 mark.

Following the offensive outburst in the second, neither team could score in the third quarter. Azevedo would give Stanford a key three-goal lead with 4:42 remaining in the game with his fourth of the contest. The goal would be the game-winner as Cal would mount a rally in the final three minutes of the game.

Quist, who had three goals on the day would cut the lead to 7-5 with a goal at 3:32 remaining. Greg Panawek would cut the lead to one with 1:16 remaining. Cal would have one last opportunity with less than 30 seconds but Azevedo would get a steal to claim the title.

Azevedo was one of three Cardinal selected to the first-team All-Tournament squad. Joining Azevedo was Peter Hudnut (Stanford), Nick Ellis (Stanford), Attila Banhidy (Cal), Adnrew Stoddard (Cal), Chris Lathrop (Cal) and Michel Vieira (Queens). The second team selections were Mike Derse (Stanford), Jeff Nesmith (Stanford), Will Quist (Cal), Greg Panawek (Cal), Matt Ellis (UCSD), Jonathan Hopkins (UCSD), John Prokhin (Queens) and Russell Bernstein (Cal).