Editor’s note: the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)’s rankings track dual meet strength, specifically. That is, a higher-ranked team is expected to win in a head-to-head dual meet with a lower-ranked team, according to the voters. These rankings aren’t an NCAA finish prediction – for a ranking closer to that model, check out SwimSwam’s Power Rankings.
The California women jump into the top spot, while the Texas men maintain their season-long spot at #1, according to the latest CSCAA dual meet polls.
The Texas men have led every poll this season, marking nine straight appearances at #1. The last time the Longhorn men weren’t ranked #1 was in October of 2019, when they sat second to California. The California men continued to hold steady at #2.
This is the first #1 ranking for the California women this season. The Texas women had led the last two polls.
Up until this month, the polls had stayed relatively stable, but with an increase in competition among Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, there were some pretty dramatic changes in ranking, including the Northwestern women leaping from 22nd to 7th. The Wildcats have been hot over the last few weeks, going undefeated against Iowa, Penn State, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
The rankings stayed much more stable on the men’s side, as the majority of teams were within a spot of two of where they were ranked last month.
Biggest Risers
- Northwestern women (+15)
- North Carolina women (+11)
- Kentucky women (+7)
- Wisconsin women (NR to 17)
- UCLA women (NR to 19)
- Wisconsin men (NR to 19)
Biggest Fallers
- Indiana women (-9)
- Texas women (-7)
- NC State women (-5)
Division I Women
| Rk | Prv | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | California | 362 |
| 2 | 2 | Virginia | 350 |
| 3 | 10 | Kentucky | 321 |
| 4 | 8 | Florida | 314 |
| 5 | 4 | Tennessee | 306 |
| 6 | 3 | Georgia | 304 |
| 7 | 22 | Northwestern | 288 |
| 8 | 1 | Texas | 259 |
| 9 | 5 | Michigan | 247 |
| 10 | 9 | Stanford | 240 |
| 11 | 6 | NC State | 221 |
| 12 | 19 | Louisville | 217 |
| 13 | 24 | North Carolina | 209 |
| 14 | 18 | Notre Dame | 168 |
| 15 | 16 | Virginia Tech | 145 |
| 16 | 11 | Alabama | 137 |
| 17 | NR | Wisconsin | 129 |
| 17 | 13 | Texas A&M | 129 |
| 19 | NR | UCLA | 105 |
| 20 | 20 | Arkansas | 85 |
| 21 | 12 | Indiana | 78 |
| 22 | NR | Minnesota | 59 |
| 23 | 14 | Ohio State | 58 |
| 24 | NR | Duke | 41 |
| 25 | 23 | Auburn | 39 |
| 25 | 15 | Missouri | 39 |
Also Receiving Votes
Florida State (14), Houston (13), Buffalo (10), Akron (9), Penn State (9), Southern California (6), Navy (1)
Women’s Poll Committee
Dan Colella, Duke; Niko Fantakis, Brown; Chris Hansen, CSU Bakersfield; Naya Higashijima (Chair), Southern Methodist; Lars Jorgensen, Kentucky; Nathan Lavery, Drexel; Matthew Leach, Washington State; Sergio Lopez, Virginia Tech; Jonathan Maccoll, Rutgers; Jesse Moore, Minnesota; Jeff Poppell, Florida; Jos Smith, Utah; Braden Keith, SwimSwam; Andy Ross, Swimming World.
Division I Men
| Rk | Prv | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Texas | 325 |
| 2 | 3 | California | 312 |
| 3 | 4 | Texas A&M | 291 |
| 4 | 2 | Georgia | 287 |
| 5 | 6 | NC State | 267 |
| 5 | 5 | Florida | 267 |
| 7 | 8 | Louisville | 249 |
| 8 | 7 | Indiana | 235 |
| 9 | 11 | Missouri | 200 |
| 10 | 10 | Virginia | 198 |
| 11 | 13 | Tennessee | 191 |
| 11 | 9 | Michigan | 191 |
| 13 | 14 | Virginia Tech | 170 |
| 14 | 11 | Stanford | 166 |
| 15 | 15 | Florida State | 131 |
| 16 | 16 | Alabama | 105 |
| 17 | 18 | Notre Dame | 101 |
| 18 | 20 | North Carolina | 99 |
| 19 | NR | Wisconsin | 90 |
| 20 | NR | Northwestern | 86 |
| 21 | 17 | Ohio State | 69 |
| 22 | 19 | Georgia Tech | 63 |
| 23 | 23 | Auburn | 43 |
| 24 | 21 | Arizona | 42 |
| 25 | 22 | Pittsburgh | 26 |
Also Receiving Votes
Purdue (10), Southern Methodist (5), Southern California (3), Minnesota (2), UNLV (1)
Men’s Poll Committee
Steve Barnes, Penn State; Chase Bloch, Southern California; Jason Calanog, Texas A&M; Matt Crispino, Princeton; Daniel Dozier, West Virginia; Matt Gianiodis, Michigan State; John Hargis, Pittsburgh; Craig Nisgor, Seattle; Bill Roberts (Chair), Navy; Rachel Stratton Mills, Arizona State; Neal Studd, Florida State; Braden Keith, SwimSwam; Andy Ross, Swimming World.
And with dual meet season over now, this poll has less than zero meaning. Honestly not sure why they still bother with it. I know this will never happen because swimming isn’t tennis with how to get peak performance, etc., but a fall dual meet championship could be an interesting idea. It could be swum as a fall invitational at a conference lot regional level but with the first day having a dual meet schedule and scored as a series of duals based on ranking. You could make it two flights so the slower teams could race each other but score based on seeding. Sorry, just dreaming of more ways to make swimming fun.
Before commenting read the criteria the poll is based so you understand why it is not way you wanted it.
I love swimswam, and you guys do great work. But the only ranking I pay attention to is Saturday night after NCAA’s is over.
Much more legit rankings here:
https://www.swimcloud.com/team/rankings/?eventCourse=Y&gender=F&page=1&rankType=D®ion=countryorganisation_usacollege&seasonId=24
NCAAs will be a good meet, lots of competitive races – any of 5-7 teams could walk out champions, interesting variables will include Covid impact, if any, and 1st year collegians – particularly among those who didn’t get a senior year of HS taper meet and haven’t raced fully tapered in almost 18 months.
This poll should die a horrid death and never be seen again. Replace it with the SS power rankings.
NC State takes #2 Virginia down to the last relay and sweeps every other dual meet….and drops to 11th?? Good joke, lol.
bruh no way this right nc state 11th hmmm try again