Collegiate Water Polo Association Releases Polls – UCLA Top-Ranked

The University of California-Los Angeles remains the top-ranked team in the land as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2016 Week 1/September 7 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.

The two-time defending National Champion and Preseason favorite Bruins lead the Men’s Varsity Top 20 balloting and become a unanimous top selection this week.  Whittier College is also a unanimous No. 1 selection as the Poets retain their position on top of the Division III Top 10 Poll through the first seven days of intercollegiate varsity competition.

2015 CWPA Champion Princeton University holds onto the top spot in the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five Poll as the Tigers edge out the hard-charging Crimson of Harvard University for the first year league’s No. 1 berth.  Unlike the National Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Northeast Water Polo Conference Top Five, a new team stands at the pinnacle of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference in the wake of the opening week of competition as Bucknell Universityovercomes a four-point deficit from the preseason poll to Johns Hopkins University to achieve top-billing in the MAWPC Top Five poll.

Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NEWPC, Golden Coast Conference, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls will be compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

2016 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 1/September 7)

The 2014 and 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of the University of California-Los Angelesbecome the undisputed top team in the nation in acquring 100 points to rate as a unanimous No. 1 selection in the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll thorugh games of September 5.

UCLA widen its gap over the rest of the field from three points in last week’s Preseason Poll to six points over runner-up the University of Southern California (94 points) after a week of action. The University of California (89 points), University of the Pacific (87 points) and Stanford University (81 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (75 points), Long Beach State University (69 points) and the University of California-Irvine (60 points) follow at No. 3-to-8, respectively, as each program defended and retained its Preseason ranking.

The Top 10, however, does experience some minor changes as Pepperdine University (55 points), which was tied with Princeton University at No. 11 in the Preseason voting, slips into the upper-echelon of the poll to take over at No. 9.  Pepperdine’s rise forces former No. 9 the University of California-San Diego (53 points) back one position to No. 10.

Princeton (51 points) holds on at No. 11 with fellow Ivy League/Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC)/East Coast institution Harvard University (49 points) moving up to No. 12 after ranking at No. 14 in last week’s Preseason Poll.  Former No. 10 the University of California-Davis (43 points) slips back to No. 13 with Brown University (39 points) inching back one slot to No. 14.

The United States Air Force Academy (25 points) stays at No. 15 with Bucknell University (24 points) jumping two places to No. 16.  California Baptist University (20 points) remains locked in at No. 17 while the duo of San Jose State University (10 points) and Loyola Marymount University (7 points) breaking into the Top 20 at No. 18 and 19, respectively, after receiving votes in the Preseason voting.

Santa Clara University (6 points) completes the Top 20 in the final spot.

Five other programs received votes in the Top 20 as Saint Francis College Brooklyn (5 points), the United States Naval Academy (4 points), George Washington University (4 points), Johns Hopkins University (4 points) and Whittier College (2 points) also earned notice.

2016 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 1/September 7)

The Poets of Whittier College (100 points) become a unanimous No. 1 selection in the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll through games of September 5.

Whittier, which had 96 points to top the Preseason Poll last week, leads a Division III Top 10 which experienced radical changes following the first week of competition.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (95 points) takes over at No. 2 with the University of Redlands (88 points) climbing up to No. 3 as the pair were rated at No. 3 and 4, respectively, last week.

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges  (83 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (80 points) bump up to No. 5 and 6 with Chapman University (73 points) and Johns Hopkins University (73 points) falling into a tie at No. 6.

California Lutheran University (67 points), the University of La Verne (60 points) and Occidental College (45 points) remain at No. 8-to-10 in concluding the Top 10.

Washington & Jefferson College (11 points) also received votes.

2016 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 7)

One week into the 2016 season and the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) has a new No. 1 team as Bucknell University rises to the top of the league’s Top Five through games of September 5.

Bucknell (98 points) takes over top-billing from Johns Hopkins Universityin a league that includes the Bison, the Blue Jays, George Washington University, the United States Naval Academy, Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, Monmouth College, Salem International University, Washington & Jefferson College, Connecticut College, Fordham University, Wagner College and La Salle University.

George Washington (94 points) follows Preseason runner-up Bucknell up the rankings as the Colonials jump two places to take over at No. 2.  Navy (91 points) remains at No. 3 with Johns Hopkins (86 points) dropping to No. 4 and Fordham (65 points) hanging on at No. 5.

Mercyhurst (16 points) also received votes.

2016 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 7)

2015 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion Princeton Universityis once again narrowly the No. 1 selection in the Northeast Water Polo Conference’s (NWPC) Top Five as the Tigers hold onto the top position after a week of action by one point.

Comprised of Brown University, Harvard University, Iona College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Saint Francis College Brooklynand Princeton, the NWPC is in its first-year of existence following a division of the CWPA into two men’s varsity conferences (Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference) starting in 2016.

Princeton, which topped Brown 95-94 for the No. 1 spot in the Preseason rankings, increases its point – but not its lead – in edging out Harvard by a 97-96 count after the opening weekend of competition.

Harvard, which was ranked at No. 4 last week, moves in front of Brown (92 points) and St. Francis Brooklyn (85 points) to stand on the cusp of achieving top billing in the new league.  MIT (48 points) completes the Top Five.

Iona also received votes as the Gaels garnered 32 points.

Courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association.