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119 2016-17 PAC-12 YEAR IN REVIEW MOUNTAIN PACIFIC SPORTS FEDERATION (Capsule Reviews of 2016-17 Pac-12 Highlights in the MPSF) MEN'S GYMNASTICS STANFORD and CALIFORNIA !nished second and third, respectively, behind three-time NCAA Champion Oklahoma at the MPSF Champion- ships. The Cardinal also advanced to the NCAA !nals where it !nished fourth for the second time in program history. The team was led by senior Akash Modi who won the all-around and parallel bars titles. He ended his career winning the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award, which goes to the top-collegiate gymnast in the country. Teammate Robert Neff also claimed an individual honor, winning his !rst-career NCAA high bar crown. MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD OREGON edged out USC for its third MPSF indoor track and !eld title, 89-83. The Ducks had six individual champions including heptathlon winner Mitch Modin who scored a career-high 5,747 points. The Trojans had four individual winners for the second-place !nish. The Ducks went on to be the league's highest !nisher at the NCAA Championships, boasting a third-place !nish overall. Edward Cheserek won his 16th- career national title, the most ever by any NCAA track and !eld or cross country athlete. He claimed a pair of titles in one day, winning the mile and the 5,000 meters a few hours later. WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD OREGON claimed its second-straight NCAA crown, which would eventually become the second of the "Triple Crown." The Ducks scored a meet-record 84 points to shatter the 29-year old record of 71, while four won individual crowns. USC ran a NCAA-record 4x400-meter relay to win the crown, edging out the Ducks by a mere .04 seconds. The Trojans won the MPSF title by a margin of 20 points over the Ducks, posting 120 points for the win. Both teams dominated the event as the only teams to score over 100 points, with third-place !nisher STANFORD notch- ing 57 points. The 4x400-meter relay sealed the victory for the Trojans, putting up a meet and track record in the !nal event of the weekend. WOMEN'S LACROSSE USC won its second-consecutive MPSF Tournament title, earning the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Trojans defeated second-seeded COLORADO, 16-11. The Trojans' Gabby McMahon was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. In its third- straight NCAA Tournament, USC advanced to the quarter!nal for the second-straight year, knocking off third-seeded Florida, 15-12. The Buffs had a season for the history books, opening the season with an 11-game winning streak and earned as high as a No. 6 national ranking. In just their fourth season as a program, the Buffs earned their !rst-ever NCAA Tournament bid, falling in the !rst round to UMass. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL UCLA led the league with a !nal AVCA Coaches poll ranking of No. 6 in the country, followed by STANFORD at No. 9 and USC at No. 11, all three teams earning a spot in the MPSF Tournament. The Buins' Jake Arnitz and the Trojans' Lucas Yoder were tabbed second team AVCA All-Americans. Yoder was the nation's leader in kills per set (4.85) and points per set (5.22). MEN'S WATER POLO CALIFORNIA won its 14th NCAA title, winning the all-MPSF !nal versus USC. The Golden Bears rallied for an 11-8 overtime win in their home pool, trailing in the !rst three periods of the match. Cal's road to the national championship match was not an easy one, having to overcome UCLA, 9-8, in the semi!nal. Bears' head coach Kirk Everist was tabbed the ACWPC National Coach of the Year and McQuin Baron was named the ogranization's national player of the year. The Trojans claimed the MPSF crown with the help of Baron's 17 saves, defeating the Bruins' 17- 14, in the title match. WOMEN'S WATER POLO No. 2 STANFORD won its !fth NCAA title in seven years on a Maggie Steffens' goal in the !nal nine seconds of the match which proved to be the game winner over No. 1 UCLA, 8-7. An Olympian, Steffens scored three goals in the title bout and was named the tournament's Most Valu- able Player. It was a rematch of the MPSF title game where the top-seeded Bruins were victorious, 6-2. UCLA's Rachel Fattal, also an Olympian, was the MPSF Tournament's MVP. The Cardinal swept the national honors with Steffens earning her second-career AWPC National Player of the Year award and John Tanner was the national coach of the year for the !fth time in his career.