/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/8345434/149914890.jpg)
The first huge tournament of the men's season is the NorCal Invitational which takes place at Palo Alto, Calif., and on the campus of Stanford. This tournament features 15 of 16 teams who are ranked -- Pomona-Pitzer is receiving votes -- with the top 12 teams in the latest CWPA Week 2 poll.
Bracket A | Bracket B | Bracket C | Bracket D |
USC
Pepperdine
Long Beach St.
Pomona-Pitzer
|
UCLA
Pacific
LMU
Concordia
|
California
UC Irvine
UCSD
Air Force
|
Stanford
UCSB
UC Davis
Santa Clara
|
USC is the favorite heading into this tournament, and they have won the past three NorCal invites, as well as the last four NCAA championships. They are 4-0 at the moment, and have not been challenged this year, and this weekend will feature a set of games to see if they really are the top team in the country.
Host team Stanford is No. 4 in the CWPA polls, and being at home gives them an advantage. They have the MPSF new comer of the year in Alex Bowen, he also was a first-team All-American. They also have two-meter standout Forrest Watkins who was second in the team with 42 goals, and was a second team All-American.
If rankings go according to plan the final four should be the top four teams in USC, UCLA, Cal and Stanford. My prediction is USC, and I will pick them until they fall as they are the overwhelming favorite this season.
Unfortunately the only way to see this tournament is to be on hand in Stanford as no web streaming is going to be offered.
Here is the schedule for the tournament (all times pacific):
For more water polo news, join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Google+