The University of Texas men’s team has taken over the top spot in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America’s (CSCAA) latest dual meet poll, overtaking the Cal Bears which slid down into a tie for fourth.
On the women’s side, Virginia reigns supreme as usual, holding onto the top spot by receiving every first-place vote, while Texas holds onto #2.
MEN’S POLL
The Longhorn men have only raced once since the previous edition of the CSCAA polls were released in October, but it was an impressive outing in their two-day showdown with Indiana.
Heading into midseason invitational meets next week, the Texas men have five swimmers ranked 1st in at least one event: Luke Hobson in the 200 free, Rex Maurer in the 500 free and 400 IM, David Johnston in the 1000 free, Will Modglin in the 100 back, and Hubert Kos in the 200 IM.
Although this would not factor into their top ranking, Texas is also slated to add Chris Guiliano to the mix later this season, which boosts their prospects heading into the postseason.
Texas moved up one spot after previously ranking second, while Arizona State made a massive jump up into the #2 spot after previously ranking sixth.
The Sun Devils impressed in their two-day tri-meet with Cal and Stanford last weekend, sweeping the Bears and Cardinal with some standout relay performances.
Ilya Kharun has been red-hot thus far for ASU, currently ranking #1 in the NCAA in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly and 200 fly.
Despite falling to Texas, Indiana moves up one spot into third, while Cal slides from first into fourth, sitting tied with Florida.
Louisville cracked the top 10 after previously ranking 11th, moving into a tie for eighth with Stanford, while UNC (12th) and Princeton (25th) moved into the top 25 after they were previously unranked.
Division I Men
| RK | Prv | Team | Points | Record |
| 1 | 2 | Texas | 373 | 2-0 |
| 2 | 6 | Arizona State | 351 | 6-0 |
| 3 | 4 | Indiana | 337 | 0-1 |
| 4 | 1 | California | 320 | 2-2 |
| 4 | 3 | Florida | 320 | 2-1 |
| 6 | 5 | NC State | 319 | 1-1 |
| 7 | 7 | Georgia | 275 | 2-3 |
| 8 | 11 | Louisville | 263 | 0-2 |
| 8 | 9 | Stanford | 263 | 3-0 |
| 10 | 12 | Ohio State | 227 | 4-0 |
| 11 | 8 | Tennessee | 212 | 0-1 |
| 12 | NR | North Carolina | 199 | 3-0 |
| 13 | 10 | Virginia Tech | 186 | 3-1 |
| 14 | 23 | Wisconsin | 174 | 2-1 |
| 15 | 13 | Auburn | 153 | 1-1 |
| 16 | 20 | Alabama | 141 | 2-0 |
| 17 | 16 | Michigan | 137 | 2-0 |
| 18 | 18 | Minnesota | 123 | 4-1 |
| 19 | 17 | Georgia Tech | 109 | 2-0 |
| 20 | 21 | Southern California | 92 | 3-2 |
| 21 | 15 | Virginia | 77 | 0-2 |
| 22 | 19 | Louisiana State | 76 | 4-2 |
| 23 | 14 | Texas A&M | 64 | 2-0 |
| 24 | 22 | Florida State | 31 | 0-4 |
| 25 | NR | Princeton | 28 | 2-0 |
Also Receiving Votes: Harvard (9), Brigham Young (7), SMU (3), Kentucky (2), Penn State (1).
WOMEN’S POLL
The Virginia women have been the best team in the nation for years and that remains the case as they hold the #1 ranking after beating Florida in mid-October and then dominating UNC on Nov. 1.
The Cavaliers are led by Gretchen Walsh, who leads the NCAA this season in the 50 free, 100 back (SCM converted) and 100 fly, while new addition Claire Curzan holds the #1 ranking in the 200 back and Emma Weber and Aimee Canny both rank 2nd in the 100 and 200 breast, respectively.
Virginia has already been the best team in the country this season despite fifth-year senior and reigning NCAA champion Alex Walsh having yet to compete as she returns from a meniscus injury.
Texas impressed with a massive win over Indiana two weeks ago, as they hold onto the #2 ranking with Jillian Cox (500, 1000 free), Emma Sticklen (200 fly), Angie Coe (200 IM) and Campbell Stoll (400 IM) all holding nation-leading times.
The Hoosiers jumped up three spots into the #3 ranking, while Stanford holds firm at #4 (with an impressive season debut from Torri Huske last weekend) and NC State soars up seven spots into fifth.
Florida notably dropped from #3 to #6 after their loss to Virginia, while Wisconsin moved into the top 10 (10th) after previously being ranked 15th.
Cracking the top 25 after going unranked previously was Alabama, which moved to 17th after defeating LSU and FSU last weekend.
Division I Women
| Rk | Prv | Team | Points | Record |
| 1 | 1 | Virginia | 425 | 2-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Texas | 408 | 2-0 |
| 3 | 6 | Indiana | 371 | 1-1 |
| 4 | 4 | Stanford | 364 | 2-0 |
| 5 | 12 | NC State | 358 | 2-0 |
| 6 | 3 | Florida | 346 | 3-1 |
| 7 | 7 | Louisville | 341 | 4-0 |
| 8 | 5 | Tennessee | 304 | 0-1 |
| 9 | 8 | California | 271 | 2-1 |
| 10 | 15 | Wisconsin | 269 | 2-0 |
| 11 | 14 | Michigan | 248 | 3-0 |
| 12 | 10 | Georgia | 235 | 3-2 |
| 13 | 18 | Arizona State | 206 | 4-3 |
| 14 | 13 | Louisiana State | 198 | 6-2 |
| 15 | 11 | Ohio State | 194 | 5-0 |
| 16 | 9 | Southern California | 173 | 2-0 |
| 17 | NR | Alabama | 159 | 2-0 |
| 18 | 19 | Auburn | 142 | 2-0 |
| 19 | 21 | North Carolina | 134 | 1-2 |
| 20 | 17 | South Carolina | 100 | 3-2 |
| 21 | 16 | Duke | 98 | 2-1 |
| 22 | 20 | Texas A&M | 58 | 4-0 |
| 23 | 23 | Minnesota | 57 | 6-1 |
| 24 | 22 | UCLA | 27 | 1-0 |
| 25 | 24 | Miami (FL) | 12 | 3-1 |
Also Receiving Votes: Florida State (8), Princeton (7), Missouri (4), Purdue (3), Virginia Tech (3), Houston (2).
Division I Women’s Poll Committee
Brooks Fail (Southern Cal), Bex Freebairn (Missouri), Jerry Champer (Georgia), Ashley Dell (Illinois-Chicago), Ryan Evans (Kansas), Naya Higashijima (New Mexico), Zach Hinsley (Miami (FL)), Michael Licon (Akron), Maddy Olson (Minnesota), Pat Roman (Nebraska), Coleman Stewart (Duke), Leah Stancil (Louisiana State), Milana Socha (Dartmouth), Athena Spellman (Florida State), Graydon Tedder (Texas Christian), Nathan Lavery (Drexel) Brody Lewis (Utah).
Division I Men’s Poll Committee
Cauli Bedran (Wisconsin), Jim Bolster (Columbia), Patrick Callan (Auburn), Graham Carpenter (Ohio State), Alicia Franklin (Denver), Reed Fujan (Louisville), Josh Huger (California-Berkley), Michael Joyce (Minnesota), Caitlin Kolbus (Kentucky), Brody Lewis (Utah), Jessica Miller Livsey (Old Dominion), Corey Manley (Arizona State), Tamber McCallister (Brigham Young), Eric Posegay (Texas), Bill Roberts (U.S. Naval Academy), Neal Studd (Florida State).
Bob “Benedict Arnold” Bowman
The horror of pursing a job at the premier S/D program in the nation. How dare he seek out new challenges!
I think you might comment more on Texas than anyone. Bevo & Co. living rent free in your head.
Dual meets should actually matter in the rankings, this is why swimming is dying. We have 2-0 TAMU dropping 8 spots and 0-2 Louisville moving up 3 spots. Football teams don’t get ranked based on individual player performances, so why are we ranking swim teams based on the times they go? Make dual meet records matter or stop swimming dual meets.
Saying “if the CSCAA coaches were better at voting, then dual meets would matter more” is the tail wagging the dog.
Make dual meets matter, then the polling will be taken more seriously.
This isn’t college football with a playoff format.
Dual meets do matter. They can be used as a measurable data point for where a swimmer is in their training this season, also comparable to previous seasons. They provide real racing opportunities to push oneself. They can be used to show if technique changes are sticking or not sticking. They can be used to experiment with different racing strategies. And finally they are a great practice for swimming fast, and the best way to swim faster is to practice swimming fast.
You are right that from a competitive standpoint they don’t have any value or reward for winning. But to suggest that racing opportunities provided by dual meets don’t matter is narrow minded.
Bonus point, could you… Read more »