Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1265846
2 0 1 9 - 2 0 P A C - 1 2 Y E A R I N R E V I E W 90 M O U N T A I N P A C I F I C S P O R T S F E D E R A T I O N (Capsule Reviews of 2019-20 Pac-12 Highlights in the MPSF) Winter and spring NCAA competition and championships were suspended on March 12, 2020, impacting postseason competition in men's gymnastics, indoor track & field, men's volleyball and women's water polo. MEN'S GYMNASTICS Two Pac-12 men's gymnastics teams were ranked in the nation's top-11 by the College Gymnastics Association, led by No. 1 Stanford. The reigning 2019 NCAA Champion posted six first-place finishes this season as the Cardinal was looking to capture its seventh all-time national title. The Cardinal swept the MPSF top honors with sophomore Brody Malone repeating as the Gymnast of the Year and 18th-year head coach Thom Glielmi earned his fourth Coach of the Year award. California finished the shortened campaign at No. 11 after recording four second-place and three third-place marks in regular-season meets. MEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Oregon's Max Vollmer broke the MPSF Championships record in the heptathlon while teammate Rieker Daniel was named Athlete of the Meet after scoring 18 of the Ducks' 50 total points. Despite a win in the distance medley relay (9:34.95), Arizona (76 points) narrowly missed knocking off two-time champion BYU (80). The NCAA Championships were canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Despite capturing just one (DMR) of the 17 events, the women of Oregon (104.5 points) captured the MPSF Championship by a healthy margin over defending champion and runner-up USC (73). USC's Bailey Lear (400m, 400m relay) earned Athlete of the Meet honors thanks to her role in setting two meet records, Washington's Olivia Gruver broke the MPSF mark in the pole vault and UCLA's Alyssa Wilson won both the shot put and weight throw to highlight top individual performances from the meet. The Huskies' Hannah Rusnak won the indoor pentathlon with a score of 4,190. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL UCLA and Stanford appeared in the final AVCA Coaches poll published before the 2020 campaign was halted because of the coronavirus (CO- VID-19) pandemic, coming in at No. 9 and No. 14, respectively. Each team placed one student-athlete on the All-MPSF first team - the Bruins' Daenan Gyimah and the Cardinal's Jaylen Jasper. Adam Flood represented USC in the postseason honors, earning a spot on the All-Freshman team. A senior, Gyimah was also a first team AVCA All-American for his third-straight All-America honor. MEN'S WATER POLO Stanford claimed the NCAA title, its 11th national championship and first since 2002. All four Pac-12 teams finished in the top eight in the final CWPA rankings with No. 1 Stanford, No.2 USC (tied), No. 5 UCLA and No. 8 California. The Cardinal finished 21-2, the best record in the MPSF, and its winningest season since 2001 (22-1). The ACWPC named Stanford's Ben Hallock National Player of the Year and named John Vargas the National Coach of the Year. The Pac-12 adds to its list of NCAA Championships with a Pac-12 institution capturing the men's water polo every year since 1998 — California (14), Stanford (11), UCLA (11) and USC (10). USC also represented the MPSF and Pac-12 at the national championship and nearly advanced to the final, but fell to the eventual champion Cardinal, 15-14, in the semis. While Hallock and Vargas claimed the league's top honors, California's Nikolaos Papanikolaou was tabbed the MPSF Newcomer of the Year. WOMEN'S WATER POLO In the season's final polling that was released on March 17, the top-three spots were occupied by MPSF squads led by No. 1 USC, and Stanford and UCLA tied for second in the poll. Two more teams - No. 6 Arizona State and No. 9 California - appeared in the top 10, rounding out the ranked league teams. The MPSF slate was just getting underway when the season was cut short. The 2019 NCAA finalist Trojans were considered the preseason favorite to win the league, edging out the Bruins for the top spot in the MPSF Preseason Coaches poll by only two points. Defending NCAA Champion Stanford was picked third in the polling. 13 student-athlete from the MPSF were named ACWPC All-Americans, representing five Pac-12 teams. USC led the way with four selections, while Stanford had three, including Emalia Eichelberger earning first-team honors at the goalie position. ASU's Itzahiana Baca was second team All-American at goal.