North Carolina won its 16th NCAA championship thanks to a collection of fine players, two of whom grace the MVP list. UCLA was the runner-up in large part because of Stephanie Rigamat, who wowed us and U.S. coach April Heinrichs in San Jose.
| G | Hope Solo (Washington ò sophomore) |
| Best player for Pac-10 champions | |
| D | Heather Aldama (Santa Clara ò senior) |
| Healthy star was a constant for injury-plagued Broncos | |
| D | Jenny Benson (Nebraska ò senior) |
| Former midfielder gave attacking punch to the back | |
| D | Danielle Borgman (North Carolina ò junior) |
| Strong in the back and up front | |
| D | Lauren Orlandos (Portland ò sophomore) |
| Physical marking back gave bite to Pilots’ backline | |
| M | Anne Makinen (Notre Dame ò senior) |
| Best all-around player in the country | |
| M | Mary-Frances Monroe (Connecticut ò junior) |
| Former forward didn’t have big numbers, but still a force | |
| F | Meredith Florance (North Carolina ò senior) |
| Saved best season (26, 8, 60) for last | |
| F | Stephanie Rigamat (UCLA ò junior) |
| UC Irvine transfer led Bruins with 8 gamewinners | |
| F | Laura Schott (California ò sophomore) |
| 23 goals (9 gamewinners) returned Cal to prominence | |
| F | Christie Welsh (Penn State ò sophomore) |
| Led Lions in scoring (17, 8, 42) despite foot injury |