Carthage College to Host 2010 National Collegiate III Women's Water Polo Championship

KENOSHA, Wisc. -- The best small college women's water polo programs in the nation will converge on the Midwest as Carthage College will play host to the 2010 National Collegiate III Women's Water Polo Championship on Friday-Sunday, May 7-9 at the Koenitzer Aquatic Center.

Although the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsors an all-division water polo championship, the event does not typically include NCAA Division III teams, with the exception of the automatic qualifier from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

While the National Collegiate III Women's Water Polo Championship is not an NCAA-sanctioned championship, it is the culminating event for NCAA Division III women's water polo. 

The victor of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division Championship earns an automatic place in the championship field this year.  Eligible teams in the CWPA include Carthage, Macalester College, Wheaton College (Ill.), Chatham University, Grove City College, Pennsylvania State University-Behrend, Connecticut College, Utica College and Washington & Jefferson College.

Ticket prices for the championship are to be determined.

Pomona-Pitzer College won the 2009 National Collegiate III Women's Championship event at California Lutheran University's Samuelson Aquatics Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The University of Redlands was second, followed by California-Santa Cruz third, Occidental College fourth, California State University-East Bay fifth, Washington & Jefferson College sixth, Macalester College seventh and Grove City College eighth. 

Carthage participated in the 2008 championship at Connecticut College in New London, Conn., and the Lady Reds finished sixth.