Pacific water polo head coach James Graham named Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight year.

Graham garners third consecutive GCC Coach of the Year

The Golden Coast Conference announced women's water polo Head Coach James Graham as the Golden Coast Conference Coach of the Year on Tuesday morning.

This is Graham's third Coach of the Year award as he led the women's water polo team to their third consecutive GCC Tournament Championship title and the program's second straight undefeated conference season with a record of 7-0. Under the helm of Graham the Tigers never trailed any point of their GCC matches against opponents and would earn a hard-fought 13-9 victory over third-seeded LMU at the GCC Championships.

Pacific captured a play-in bid to this year's National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships held at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center as they went on to defeat SCIAC Conference champions Cal Lutheran, 16-8, before falling to the eventual champion Cardinal in the Quarterfinal round.

Rounding out the year with an overall record of 18-9, Graham aided his team to a 10-match winning streak leading up to their NCAA quarterfinal match against Stanford—the program's longest streak it's had since 2010 when they won 13 in a row. This season also marks the third straight year Pacific finished with a top-10 ranking, finishing No. 8 in the country.

"This is a great honor but the credit for this year should really go to my staff and athletes," Graham stated. "It's their hard work, dedication, and passion that makes UOP into water polo U."

Over his six-year tenure with women's water polo, Pacific Graham has compiled a record of 120-85, it's highest win total in program history. Graham also coached the 2018 men's water polo team to back-to-back GCC regular season titles, becoming the first individual to run both teams consecutively at UOP.   

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