Water Polo

She still has bad days. On Fridays, Lauren Lingle takes the medicine that is supposed to protect her from own body. On Saturdays, she may throw up a half-dozen times before she slips into the pool to play water polo. It is her sport of choice, but is as much her therapy. Lingle, 17, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. She once was laid up for six weeks in a hospital bed because of stiffness, once could get around only in a wheelchair.

PALO ALTO -- Tanya Gandy scored twice and UCLA's top-ranked water polo team finished another undefeated season with a 6-3 victory over USC in the championship game of the NCAA tournament Sunday. Courtney Mathewson, Anne Belden, Priscilla Orozco and Gabrielle Domanic each added a goal. "It's an unbelievable feeling," UCLA Coach Adam Krikorian said. "We played with so much heart. We weren't great offensively, but we were in the first period.

Tony Azevedo was 14 when he watched the Spanish water polo team erupt in joy after capturing the Olympic gold medal in 1996. The moment is still fresh in his mind. "When they won a medal, they were kissing each other and they were crying," Azevedo said. "It was then that I knew the only thing I want to do is represent my country with a medal around my neck."

This was what he had always wanted, to coach the men's U.S. Olympic water polo team, but when the opportunity arose, Terry Schroeder wasn't sure the timing was right. This was 13 months ago. Coach Ricardo Azevedo had been fired three weeks before an Olympic qualifying tournament for reasons USA Water Polo won't discuss, and the team was in turmoil.

To her coach, Brenda Villa is the "Wayne Gretzky of women's water polo." To her teammates, Villa is the inspirational captain of the top-ranked U.S. national squad that is preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To the city of Commerce, Villa is the public face of a predominantly Latino community that most Southern Californians associate with a casino. Carrying the Olympic dreams of her team, her hometown and her country is a daunting task, even for Villa's broad and powerful shoulders.

Top-ranked UCLA is the team to watch this weekend at the NCAA women's water polo championships, and not only because the Bruins are the two-time defending champions. Should UCLA win, it would give the school its 100th national title.

The USC women's water polo team opened the 2007 NCAA championships with a balanced attack, getting 11 different players in on the scoring, and the Trojans defeated Hartwick (N.Y.), 20-5, at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos. With the victory, third-seeded USC (21-5) moves a step closer to a national championship, entering a semifinal match against second-seeded UCLA (26-2) tonight at 6:45.

The UCLA women's team defeated USC for the sixth consecutive time, and fourth time this season, 7-6, Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA championships at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. The second-seeded Bruins (27-2) will play top-seeded Stanford (27-2) today at 5:30 p.m. in the championship match. The Cardinal advanced by beating San Diego State, 13-4. If UCLA wins, it would be the school's 100th NCAA team title. UCLA would be the first school to accomplish that feat.

As far as college sports go, women's water polo isn't exactly filled with the glitz and glamour of football or basketball. Even the national championship trophy -- actually a plaque -- is lower key than the shiny crystal passed out for more high-profile sports. Still, the title counts as much, and that means that UCLA has reached a magical milestone: its 100th NCAA title.

The top-seeded USC men's water polo team advanced to its third consecutive NCAA championship game by defeating fourth-seeded Loyola Marymount, 8-4, on Saturday at Stanford. For the fourth consecutive game, sophomore Matt Sagehorn had a hat trick to lead the Trojans (19-2), who took an early lead and never lost control in beating the Lions (13-16). Sagehorn's three-goal game extends his multiple-goal scoring streak to 11 games. He leads the Trojans in scoring with 38 goals this season.