Michigan Men, Georgia Women Top First CSCAA Poll

The first CSCAA Poll of the 2011-2012 collegiate season has been released. As we reported last week, the CSCAA poll undergoes a new format this year, where each conference has a representative (with one taking the Big East and the non-BCS Conferences) who are responsible for identifying, discussing, and voting in the poll. Here, the identity of each of these pollsters are revealed:

SEC Men/Women: Richard Long, Auburn
ACC Men/Women: Chris DeSantis, Georgia Tech
Big 12 Women: Jim Henry, Texas
Big 12 Men: Andy Grevers, Missouri
Pac 12 Men: Geoff Hanson, Arizona
Pac 12 Women: Adirana Quirke, Washington State
Big 10 Women: Erica Janssen, Purdue
Big 10 Men: Bill Tramel, Minnesota
At Large: Mike Shelby, Ashland

The Michigan men were a unanimous choice for the #1 spot in the rankings after they upended preseason National Title favorites , and #2, Texas by a single point in Ann Arbor. Arizona is the highest-ranked team out of the Pac-12, which I think will surprise a lot of people, but #4 Stanford is right behind them. Rounding out the top 5 are the Auburn men, who have looked strong this year – including a 130 point win over #20 LSU.

Among the biggest showdowns coming up this weekend are #5 Auburn versus #9 Georgia and #3 Arizona against #8 USC.

Iowa made a huge leap up the rankings thanks to a solid victory over #15 Minnesota, including many top-10 ranked times. I think the rankings for both schools are a bit high, though the win was certainly impressive.

The Virginia men checked in at #21, whereas Navy didn’t crack the top-25, despite Navy taking the pair’s dual meet. The voters appeared to have given Virginia credit for being on the road and swimming in Navy’s unique 25-meter course.

1. Michigan (6)
2. Texas
3. Arizona
4. Stanford
5. Auburn
6. California
7. Florida
8. Southern California
9. Georgia
10. Iowa
11. Ohio St
11. UNC
13. Tennessee
14. Indiana
15. Minnesota
16. Louisville
17. Purdue
18. Texas A&M
19. North Carolina State
20. Lousiana State
21. Virginia
22. Virginia Tech
23. Florida St
24. Missouri
25. UNLV

Also receiving votes:
Navy 13 Notre Dame 5, Kentucky 5, Alabama 5, Penn St 5, UC Santa Barbara 5, SMU 3, Buffalo 1, South Carolina 1

The women’s poll will surprise some at the top, as the Georgia women received the #1 spot over defending National Champions Cal, though both received first-place votes. The Georgia women have certainly put together a more impressive resume early this season, including a 65-point win over #12 North Carolina and a 17-point win over a hot Florida team, who came in at #4. The Gators, despite that result, received the other first-place vote, though the math implies that there was some dissent in the voters.

The Texas women also received a lofty ranking at #3, though without any first-place votes, with a dominating win over #10 Texas A&M fresh on the voters’ minds. USC rounds out the top-5, though like Cal they haven’t swum any ranked teams yet. The Pac-10 schedule should heat up next week with #5 USC travelling for a huge battle with #8 Arizona.

Indiana, who I expect are the favorites to win the Big Ten, are ranked #14 and only the third-highest team in the conference (between #11 Minnesota and #13 Ohio State). Missouri comes in at #15, buoyed by the addition of Florida transfer Shara Stafford. That’s a team that can win a lot of races, but is in a transition period where they’re still looking to build depth. The Maryland women debut at #19, just one day after the team was informed that the university president received a recommendation to cut the program.

LSU is ranked #20, which I feel might be a bit low based on Amanda Kendall alone. They are tied there with SMU, who I’ve had the chance to see in person this year and who look very impressive.

1. Georgia (3)
2. Cal (2)
3. Texas
4. Florida (1)
5. USC
6. Auburn
7. Stanford
8. Arizona
9. Tennessee
10. Texas A&M
11. Minnesota
12. North Carolina
13. Ohio St
14. Indiana
15. Missouri
16. Michigan
17. Louisville
18. Virginia
19. Maryland
20. Southern Methodist
20. Louisiana State
22. Purdue
23. Arizona St
24. Florida St
25. UCLA