With the score tied 4-4 and just 1:28 remaining, UCLA's Coralie Simmons broke free for a one-on-one chance against Stanford's Jackie Frank. After a series of ball fakes, Simmons scored a goal that gave the UCLA Bruins women's water polo team a 5-4 victory in the inaugural 2001 NCAA Women's Water Polo National Championship.

"We took advantage of an offensive call that led to my one-on-goalie. Going against Jackie Frank in the cage was not an easy feat…she made me fake the ball at least five times for her to drop," Simmons said about her game-winning goal. "I remember to this day having to be very meticulous with what I should do with the ball in that moment."

That moment at Avery Aquatic Center on May 13, 2001 marked the first-ever NCAA-sanctioned women's water polo national championship. There was an overwhelming level of excitement for getting an opportunity to compete at an official NCAA championship and an extra level of prestige and respect that was felt by all involved.

"It was pretty awesome to be on that initial NCAA-sanctioned team and finally be part of an NCAA tournament," Stanford's Ellen Estes Lee said. "To be able to compete at home was an added bonus."

"This was the first championship held after the 2000 Sydney Olympics…so there was this wave of momentum that was building and an excitement that made it feel different," UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian added.

The pool was filled with talent, including Olympians and future Olympians on both sides: UCLA's Simmons, Robin Beauregard, Jaime Hipp, Natalie Benson, Thalia Munro (Ormsby), and Kelly Heuchan opposite Stanford's Frank, Estes Lee, Brenda Villa, and Margie Dingeldein. Simmons earned Most Valuable Player honors and was joined on the All-Tournament First Team by teammates Beauregard and Heuchan while Stanford placed Frank, Estes Lee, and Villa on the First Team.

"It was essentially me and my Stanford teammates from the national team versus my UCLA teammates from the national team. I remember being annoyed at my Olympic teammates on the other side, Robin Beauregard especially, because she was the two-meter defender who often guarded me," Estes Lee explained. "So it was kind of odd to go from competing together to competing against each other a few months later."

The game reflected the era, when defense often dictated outcomes. A 5-4 scoreline was not as uncommon as it is today, and two elite goalkeepers in Frank and Hipp anchored a tightly contested match where every possession mattered.

"This is the first NCAA championship and you're playing the first official game at Avery Aquatic Center, one of the best facilities in the world to play and watch a game," Krikorian claimed. "So there were some extra nerves and that tends to lend itself to a defensive battle."

UCLA came in as the defending national champions from 2000 in the final year before NCAA sponsorship but Stanford entered the tournament as the favorite after being undefeated on the season, including four wins over the Bruins.

"We jumped ahead and got them in an uncomfortable space since they were used to leading and dictating the game," Simmons noted. "Probably rattled them a bit since they were undefeated and at home, so we were in a good spot where we felt like we had nothing to lose."

The underdog role was one the Bruins relished and Krikorian leaned on a quote from Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich when addressing his team pregame: "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

That wasn't the first time Coach Krikorian aimed to inspire his team. Earlier in the season, UCLA had visited Stanford when Avery Aquatic Center still had scaffolding on it and had yet to officially open. Krikorian and his staff took the Bruins out on the pool deck to visualize returning at the end of the season for the NCAA championship game.

"This was the beginning of a very important step in the growth of women's water polo," said Krikorian.

As a fifth-year senior, Simmons used her experience to lead her Bruins teammates in 2001. She reminded them there was only one game that mattered now and this was a chance to wipe the slate clean.

"I was part of a big championship game where I was putting a silver medal around my neck, which was an amazing feat and I love my silver medal, but I did not want to be second on the podium [again] months after the Olympics."

Thanks to her heroics, Simmons would finish this tournament on top of the podium. After her game-winner, she celebrated with former teammates from her class who were in the stands and wearing blue wigs amongst a sea of Stanford red.

For Estes Lee, the experience fit into a broader spectrum that included her own journey as well as her children's.

"I didn't find [the sport] until I was 14-years-old and in high school…I have been happy to see the growth of clubs, especially in the Northern California area."

The growth of the game is evident in how it is learned. There are now more opportunities than ever for young athletes to start early, including programs like Splashball, which introduced Estes Lee's children to water polo before they turned ten. Her son now plays for San Mateo Aquatics Club, established in 2023.

As for Simmons, she hopes this is just the start of continued growth.

"How far the sport has come in such a short period of time [is amazing]," Simmons said. "It has been a gradual growth but a healthy growth and there is more exposure now to what we bring to the sporting realm."

Krikorian's career resume has only grown with each new success at UCLA before taking the helm of the U.S. women's national team and he remains committed to seeing the sport's growth continue as well.

"We have to continue to build the sport to make it even better 25 years from now and an even bigger part of the athletic community. That's what all of us who are involved in it should be tasked with doing," Krikorian said. "It's been an honor to be a part of it all."