USA Water Polo announces free ‘Legacy Crown’ event in Costa Mesa
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USA Water Polo on Tuesday announced the creation of a new event, honoring the 25th anniversary of women’s water polo at the Olympic Games.
The Legacy Crown will be contested Nov. 15-16 in Costa Mesa.
The two-day championship, designed to celebrate women’s water polo and people in the community who have helped foster growth, excellence and opportunity, will feature the country’s top collegiate teams, elite domestic clubs and USA Water Polo National Team Academy squads.
“We are honored to bring together some of the most elite collegiate and club programs in the country for the inaugural Legacy Crown,” said Adam Krikorian, head coach of USA Water Polo’s women’s national team, in a statement. “Our vision is for this to become an annual tradition — one that celebrates the legacy of women’s water polo while embracing the relentless competitive spirit that defines our sport. We can’t wait to see who will rise and claim the crown!”
Matches will take place at Orange Coast College and Costa Mesa High School, which are across the street from each other. Admission will be free, with match schedules to come.
Stanford University will headline the collegiate field as the reigning NCAA champion, and will be joined by perennial NCAA tournament qualifiers UCLA, USC, California, Hawaii, Arizona State, UC Irvine, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Fresno State and UC San Diego. Elite domestic clubs will include the New York Athletic Club, Los Angeles Athletic Club and the Olympic Club. The next generation of USA Water Polo stars from two USA Academy squads also will compete.
The winning team will receive the inaugural Legacy Crown championship trophy. Individual awards will include MVP, Best Goalkeeper, Leading Scorer, Best Defensive Player and Rising Star.
Women’s water polo was first introduced at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The United States won three straight gold medals in 2012, 2016 and 2020, with Corona del Mar and UCLA alumna Maddie Musselman being named MVP at the Tokyo Olympics.
