The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2014 Men’s Varsity Week 13/December 3 National Top 20, Division III Top 10 and CWPA Top 10 Polls.
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) champion Stanford University gains some company in the top spot of the National Top 20 rankings as the University of California-Los Angeles climbs one place to tie the Cardinal for the top spot entering this weekend’s 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Water Polo Championship at the University of California-San Diego. Behind the Cardinal and Bruins, the University of Southern California and Long Beach State University exchange the No. 3 and 4 positions, while the University of California, UC-San Diego, the University of California-Santa Barbara, Brown University, University of the Pacific and Pepperdine University complete the Top 10.
Whittier College remains the final top pick in the Division III ranks as the Poets garnered 96 points to retain its position as the No. 1 team in a Division III Top 10 Poll which underwent changes for the seventh week in a row.
2014 CWPA champion Brown University, which defeated formerly top-ranked Princeton University two weeks ago at the CWPA Championship on the campus of the United States Naval Academy, concludes the year as the top choice on the East Coast. Princeton, Navy, St. Francis College Brooklyn and Bucknell University round out the Top Five among teams East of the Sierra Nevada.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the CWPA, WWPA, MPSF, SCIAC and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2014 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 13)
Stanford University, which claimed the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship, gains company in the top spot of the Week 13/December 3 National Top 20 Poll as the University of California-Los Angeles joins the Cardinal in leading the nation.
The Cardinal (97 points) has now topped the poll six times (Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 7, Week 12, Week 13), while the Bruins (97 points) pick up their eighth No. 1 rankings of the season after leading the rankings in the Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 and Week 11 polls.
For fans, the ranking sets up a potential National Championship showdown to decide which team is truly the best of the best as both the Bruins and Cardinal will be part of this weekend’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Water Polo Championship on Saturday-Sunday, December 6-7, at the University of California-San Diego in La Jolla, Calif. with the University of Southern California and the host Tritons.
Although UCLA and Stanford will enter the championship with No. 1 rankings, the Trojans of USC (90 points) stand within striking distance of both squads in the rankings as the squad moves up to No. 3 and drops Long Beach State University (87 points) back to No. 4.
The University of California (80 points), Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) champion UC-San Diego (74 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (66 points) hold on at No. 5-to-7, respectively, for another week, while CWPA champion Brown University (59 points) bumps up one place to No. 8 after dropping a 12-7 decision at UC-San Diego last weekend in an NCAA Play-In game. University of the Pacific (58 points) and Pepperdine University (58 points) complete the Top 10 as the duo are tied at No. 9.
The University of California-Irvine (52 points) and Princeton University (52 points) move into a tie at No. 11, with the University of California-Davis (38 points) and Loyola Marymount University (29 points) sticking at No. 13 and 14 for another week.
The United States Naval Academy (28 points) acquires sole possession of the No. 15 slot, with St. Francis College Brooklyn (20 points) and Bucknell University (19 points) taking over at No. 16 and 17.
The United States Air Force Academy (16 points), Santa Clara University (15 points) and California Baptist University (10 points) complete the Top 20.
2014 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 13/Final)
The Poets of Whittier College (96 points) conclude the year at No. 1 in the Week 13/December 3/Final National Division III Top 10 Poll.
Behind the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champion Poets, Johns Hopkins University (93 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (90 points) remain locks at No. 2 and 3, respectively, while Chapman University (89 points) gains sole possession of the No. 4 position after tying with the University of Redlands (79 points) for the spot last week.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (72 points) and California Lutheran University (62 points) remain at No. 6 and 7, with the University of La Verne (60 points) breaking out of a tie with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (50 points) to take over at No. 8.
Occidental College (35 points) completes the Top 10, while Washington & Jefferson College (25 points) and Connecticut College (24 points) also received votes.
2014 Men’s Varsity CWPA Top 10 (Week 13/Final)
Brown University concludes the year as the top-ranked team in the league as the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) champion Bears pick up 99 points to lead the Week 13/December 3/Final CWPA Top 10 Poll.
Northern Division champion Brown, which handled former No. 1 Princeton University by a 7-6 final in the CWPA Championship title game at the United States Naval Academy two weeks ago, made history by claiming the league championship and an automatic berth to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship. The Bears fell in an NCAA Play-In game over the weekend at the University of California-San Diego via a 12-7 final score.
It marked Brown’s first appearance at the NCAA Championship since 1990 when the event was hosted at Belmont Plaza Pool by California State University-Long Beach. In addition, the Bears advanced to the NCAA postseason with the program’s first conference title since an 11-7 victory over Bucknell University on November 10, 1985 in Providence, R.I. for the third of three consecutive Mid-Atlantic League crowns claimed by the Bears . The Mid-Atlantic League was the precursor to the current Collegiate Water Polo Association.
Princeton (96 points), which claimed the league’s Southern Division Championship and was ranked at No. 1 in the league poll from the Preseason-to-Week 11 balloting, remains at No. 2.
Navy (89 points), St. Francis College Brooklyn (84 points) and Bucknell University (82 points) complete the Top Five, with Johns Hopkins University (75 points) and Harvard University (69 points) staying at No. 6 and 7.
George Washington University (50 points), Fordham University (49 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (47 points) complete the Top 10.
Water Polo News courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association.
