Stanford Takes Over #1 Spot in WWP Top 25 Poll; Arizona State Moves into Top 5

A week out of the water did not stop Stanford from assuming the #1 spot in the collegiate women’s water polo association Top 25 poll.

The Cardinal, which last played on Feb. 2, moved up a spot to top the poll after then-#1 USC fell to #3 UCLA in the championship match of the Triton Invitational on Sunday. Stanford returns to action on Saturday at the Aggie Classic in Davis, California.

After handing USC its first loss of the 2020 season with a 7-5 win, UCLA moved up one spot to #2. The Bruins went 4-0, adding wins over Pomona-Pitzer (21-2), #19 Indiana (12-9) and #8 Arizona State (11-8). Hannah Palmer logged a hat trick vs. Pomona-Pitzer and Indiana. Abbi Hill added four scores vs. IU and two vs. USC, while Katrina Drake dropped four goals vs. ASU.

Hawaii, USC and Arizona State round out the Top 5. The Rainbow Wahine moved up one position into a tie for #3 with USC despite having the weekend off, while the Sun Devils climbed three places from #8 to #5 after a 3-1 effort at the Triton Invitational.

ASU topped #22 Cal State Northridge 9-3, #5 UC Irvine 10-9 and #7 UC San Diego 13-8. The Sun Devils’ lone loss was an 11-8 decision to #3 UCLA. Meghan Beaudet put in four goals against UCSD, while Borbala Kekesi notched hat tricks against CSUN, UCI and UCSD.

Indiana upset #9 UC Davis amidst a 1-3 effort last week, vaulting the Hoosiers up four positions from #19 to #15. IU topped the Aggies 12-11 in sudden death, before falling to #3 UCLA 12-9, #5 UC Irvine 12-7 and #12 Long Beach State 10-9. Tina Doherty scored five times against UC Davis, while Megan Abarta registered a five-bagger vs. LBSU.

Wagner also moved up three spots from #20 to #17 with a 4-0 performance at the Bison Invitational. The Seahawks upset #15 Harvard 12-8 and downed St. Francis Brooklyn 16-5, #23 Bucknell 17-8 and Mercyhurst 17-3. Malia Josephson dropped in six goals against both Harvard and Bucknell to lead the Wagner attack.

UC Davis dropped five spots from #9 to #14 after splitting its four matches at the Triton Invitational. The Aggies fell to Indiana 12-11 in sudden death, then bounced back with a 14-8 win over Pomona-Pitzer and a 9-7 victory over #22 Cal State Northridge before falling to #16 Loyola Marymount 8-7 to end the weekend. Chloe Robinson scored a team-leading six times in the loss to Indiana and added four goals alongside Noelle Wijnbelt against Cal State Northridge.

Princeton fell four spots from #17 to #21 despite a weekend off. The Tigers (2-2) return to action at home this weekend, hosting Wagner, San Diego State and Long Island Brooklyn on Saturday and Sunday.

Harvard fell three spots from #15 into a tie at #18 after going 3-1 at the Bison Invitational. The Crimson lost to #20 Wagner 12-8, but managed wins over LIU Brooklyn 11-8, St. Francis Brooklyn 18-7 and Saint Francis (Pa.) 11-5.

Azusa Pacific dropped out of the Top 25 into the ranks of the vote getters despite not playing on Week 4.

Salem, George Washington and Santa Clara each were mentioned among the vote getters after Week 4 play.

The Tigers went 2-2 at the Bison Invitational, falling to #23 Bucknell 15-10 and George Washington 12-10, before rebounding with a 13-9 win over Gannon and a 15-14 sudden death victory over LIU Brooklyn.

GW posted a 3-1 effort at the Bison Invitational, dropping an 11-4 decision to La Salle and bouncing back with wins over Salem (12-10), Saint Francis (Pa.) (8-6) and Gannon (12-5).

Santa Clara went 1-3 at the Triton Invitational, beating Pomona-Pitzer 10-6, but falling to ranked teams in #5 UC Irvine (13-3), #22 Cal State Northridge (10-6) and #24 Marist (10-7).

Collegiate Water Polo Association Feb. 12, 2020 Poll

Rank Team Week 3 Poll Points
1 Stanford University 2 98
2 University of California-Los Angeles 3 96
3 (T) University of Hawaii 4 91
3 (T) University of Southern California 1 91
5 Arizona State University 8 84
6 University of California-Irvine 5 79
7 University of California 6 75
8 University of California-San Diego 7 74
9 University of California-Santa Barbara 9 (T) 66
10 University of Michigan 9 (T) 64
11 Long Beach State University 12 57
12 Fresno State University 13 52
13 San Jose State University 14 51
14 University of California-Davis 9 (T) 49
15 (T) Indiana University 19 44
15 (T) Loyola Marymount University 16 44
17 Wagner College 20 32
18 (T) University of the Pacific 17 (T) 28
18 (T) Harvard University 15 28
20 California State University-Northridge 22 24
21 Princeton University 17 (T) 22
22 San Diego State University 21 18
23 Bucknell University 23 16
24 Marist College 24 8
25 California Baptist University 25 (T) 3
RV Brown University RV 2
RV Sonoma State University RV 2
RV Azusa Pacific University 25 (T) 1
RV Salem University NR 1
RV George Washington University NR 1

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