Southwest Division Runner-Up to Compete at 2009 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Dan Sharadin, Commissioner of the the Collegiate Water Polo Association has announced that the runner-up in the Southwest Division will advance to the 2009 Women's National Collegiate Club Championship on May 1-3 at the University of California-Davis.

A change to the previously announced seeding for the National Collegiate Club Championship, the adjustment comes about as University of Washington declined the division's bid as the Northwest runner-up to the National Collegiate Club Championship late in the afternoon on Friday, March 20. 

The bid will be awarded to the runner-up in the Southwest per CWPA rules as a division can not qualify three teams for the championship field.

Per the regulations of the league, the bid would first have been allotted to the Sierra Pacific Division as the division had the next highest finishing team at the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Oregon. 

However, due to Sierra Pacific Division member UC-Davis hosting the championship, and thus earning an automatic bid to the championship field, and the Sierra Pacific Division champion also earning a slot, the division is ineligible for a third bid.

Subsequently, the bid is awarded to the division which finished fourth at the 2008 National Collegiate Club Championship, the Southwest Division.

The seeding for the championship will be as follows:

1st Position - Pacific Coast Division Champion
2nd Position - Northwest Division Champion (University of Oregon)
3rd Position - Sierra Pacific Division Champion
4th Position - Southwest Division Champion
5th Position - Mid-Atlantic Division Champion
6th Position - Southest Division Champion
7th Position - New England Division Champion
8th Position - Big 10 Conference Champion
9th Position - Pacific Coast Division Runner-Up
10th Position - Southwest Division Runner-Up
11th Position - Midwest Division Champion
12th Position - New York Division Champion
13th Position - North Atlantic Division Champion
14th Position - Heartland Division Champion
15th Position - Texas Division Champion
16th Position - Host/Sierra Pacific Division Runner-Up

Note: If the University of California-Davis wins the Sierra Pacific Division title, the Aggies will assume the 3rd position, with the Sierra Pacific Division runner-up taking the 16th position.

A complete bracket for the 2009 National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of California-Davis is available here.