Women's Water Polo: No. 6-seed Tigers draw USC at NCAAs

In its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, the women’s water polo team drew a No. 6-seed and will face No. 3-seed University of Southern California, the NCAA announced in an online selection show Monday night. Princeton will face the Trojans in San Diego on May 11.

All eight teams in the tournament will play three games, regardless of the outcomes. The Princeton-USC winner will face the winner of the University of California, Los Angeles and Iona on May 12, and the losers will also play each other. Games to decide first, third, fifth and seventh place will take place the following day.

Ranked 14th in the nation, Princeton (28-4) defeated Maryland 6-5 in the Eastern Championships final to earn an automatic bid to NCAAs. USC (21-5) finished third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, which featured most of the nation's powerhouse programs.

Head coach Luis Nicolao will face USC in the first round of NCAAs for a second time this year. Princeton faced the Trojans in the four-team men’s water polo tournament in December, falling 17-4 but recovering to win the third-place game.