Slideshow Stanford was named the top seed for the NCAA women's water polo tournament that begins May 9. Photo by David Gonzales/stanfordphoto.com Previous Next

The top-ranked Stanford women's water polo team was awarded the top seed of the upcoming NCAA tournament, which opens Friday, May 9, at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Cardinal (22-1) won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament to earn the automatic bid. The announcement was made Monday.

Stanford will meet the winner of No. 8 seed Indiana, the CWPA champion, and No. 9 seed Wagner, the MAAC champion. Indiana and Wagner play this Saturday in a play-in game.

The Cardinal, the only program to have qualified for all 14 NCAA water polo tournaments since the event's inception in 2001, is looking for its fourth national title. Stanford previously won titles in 2002, 2011 and 2012.

Including Stanford, five MPSF teams made it into the 10-team field. UCLA, USC, California and Arizona State claimed the second through fifth seeds, respectively, with Big West champion UC Irvine being named the No. 6 seed.

The Cardinal is 13-1 against the field, with the lone loss to the Bruins.