Courtesy: Collegiate Water Polo
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The mystery of which program is the best-of the-best remains unsolved following the regular season and conference tournaments as the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles are tied at No. 1 as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2021 Week 12/November 24 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.
UCLA, which fell from the top position two weeks ago, claimed the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title by defeating host Stanford University, 11-10, over the weekend. USC – which was tied at No. 1 last week with the University of California – finished in third place at the MPSF Championship after downing Cal by an 11-9 count after taking a 6-5 loss to UCLA in the semifinals. However, the national poll looks at the entire season – rather than one weekend – as the Bruins and Trojans are rated as equals heading into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champioship on Deceber 4-5 at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center.
In the other rankings, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion Pomona-Pitzer Colleges retains custody of the top spot in the Division III Top 10 ranking, while Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Fordham University finishes the year as the unanimous No. 1 pick in the MAWPC Top Five. Princeton University wraps-up the 2021 league season by finishing at No. 1 in the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five after claiming the league crown at home in DeNunzio Pool.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NWPC, Golden Coast Conference, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), SCIAC and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls will be compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2021 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 12)
The University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Southern California rate in a tie for the No. 1 position in the 2021 Week 12/November 24 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 poll.
USC (96 points) – which was tied with the University of California (93 points) at No. 1 last week – and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Champion UCLA (96 points) – which rated at No. 3 in the November 17 rankings – lead a Top 20 in which only four teams retain their spots from last week’s balloting.
California slips to No. 3, while Golden Coast Conference Champion Long Beach State University (82 points) moves into a tie with Stanford University (82 points) at No. 4. University of the Pacific (72 points) – which fell to Long Beach State by a 13-9 final score in the Golden Coast Conference title game – moves up one spot to No. 6, while Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Champion the University of California-Davis (68 points) rises four positions to take over at No. 7.
San Jose State University (66 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (64 points) stay at and fall to No. 8 and 9, respectively, while Pepperdine University (49 points) and Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Princeton University (49 points) are tied at No. 10.
California Baptist University (43 points) – which fell to UC-Davis in the WWPA title game by a 14-9 score – rises four positions to No. 12 with Loyola Marymount University (41 points), the University of California-Irvine (40 points) and the University of California-San Diego (32 points) attaining the No. 13-to-15 positions, respectively.
Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Fordham University (23 points) – which knocked off host the United States Naval Academy for the MAWPC crown – takes over at No. 16 with Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (20 points) sticking at No. 17 for another week.
St. Francis College Brooklyn (16 points) – which fell to Princeton by a 9-6 score in the NWPC title game at Princeton – ascends one spot to No. 18.
Brown University (10 points) breaks into the Top 20 at No. 19 with Harvard University (9 points) attaining the No. 20 position.
2021 MEN’S VARSITY TOP 20 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 24) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | University of Southern California | 1 (T) | 96 |
| 1 (T) | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 96 |
| 3 | University of California | 1 (T) | 93 |
| 4 (T) | Long Beach State University | 5 | 82 |
| 4 (T) | Stanford University | 4 | 82 |
| 6 | University of the Pacific | 7 | 72 |
| 7 | University of California-Davis | 11 | 68 |
| 8 | San Jose State University | 8 | 66 |
| 9 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 6 | 64 |
| 10 (T) | Pepperdine University | 9 | 49 |
| 10 (T) | Princeton University | 13 (T) | 49 |
| 12 | California Baptist University | 16 | 43 |
| 13 | Loyola Marymount University | 15 | 41 |
| 14 | University of California-Irvine | 13 (T) | 40 |
| 15 | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 32 |
| 16 | Fordham University | 18 | 23 |
| 17 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 17 | 20 |
| 18 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 19 | 16 |
| 19 | Brown University | RV | 10 |
| 20 | Harvard University | 12 | 9 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 6 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | 20 | 4 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 3 |
| RV | George Washington University | NR | 1 |
2021 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 12)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges remain the undisputed top team in the 2021 Week 12/November 24 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
Pomona-Pitzer (100 points), which was ranked at No. 3 in the Preseason balloting, is a unanimous top selection for the 12th week in a row.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (95 points) – which fell to Pomona-Pitzer by a 12-8 score in the SCIAC title game – remains at No. 2, with California Lutheran University (87 points), Whittier College (82 points), Johns Hopkins University (81 points) and Chapman University (72 points) retaining the No. 3-to-6 positions, respectively.
Occidental College (70 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (70 points) move into a tie at No. 7, while the University of Redlands (63 points) stays at No. 9 and the University of La Verne (33 points) cracks the Top 10 by achieving the final slot.
2021 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 24) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | California Lutheran University | 3 | 87 |
| 4 | Whittier College | 4 | 82 |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 | 72 |
| 7 (T) | Occidental College | 7 | 70 |
| 7 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8 | 70 |
| 9 | University of Redlands | 9 | 63 |
| 10 | University of La Verne | RV | 33 |
| RV | Austin College | 10 | 22 |
2021 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/FINAL)
Fordham University completes the year at No. 1 in the 2021 Week 12/November 24/Final Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Poll.
The Rams (100 points) wrap-up the year as a unanimous No. 1 selection with the United States Naval Academy (95 points) – which fell at home to the Rams by a 9-6 score in the MAWPC Championship game – completing the 2021 campaign at No. 2.
George Washington University (90 points) – which stopped Wagner College by an 11-9 count in the MAWPC Third Place game – stays at No. 3 with Wagner (85 points) moving up to No. 4 in front of Bucknell University (64 points).
The largest collegiate water polo conference, the MAWPC features 12 teams as Bucknell, Fordham, George Washington, Navy, Johns Hopkins University, Wagner and Mount St. Mary’s University comprise the Eastern Region, with Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, Salem University, Washington & Jefferson College and McKendree University competing in the Western Region.
2021 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 24/FINAL) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | United States Naval Academy | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | George Washington University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 5 | 85 |
| 5 | Bucknell University | 4 | 64 |
| RV | Johns Hopkins University | RV | 16 |
2021 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12)
Princeton University wraps up the year at No. 1 in the 2021 Week 12/November 24/Final Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five Poll after claiming the league championship at home over the weekend.
The Tigers (100 points) – who downed St. Francis College Brooklyn by a 9-6 count – lead a NWPC Top Five which experiences significant changes following the league championship tournament.
St. Francis Brooklyn (94 points) moves up one place to take over at No. 2, while Harvard University (88 points) and Brown University (88 points) are tied at No. 3. Iona College (80 points) completes the rankings at No. 5.
A seven-team conference, the NWPC was comprised of Brown, Connecticut College, Harvard, Iona, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton and St. Francis Brooklyn for the 2021 season.
2021 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 24/FINAL) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 3 | 94 |
| 3 (T) | Harvard University | 2 | 88 |
| 3 (T) | Brown University | 4 | 88 |
| 5 | Iona College | 5 | 80 |
Another USC-UCLA cross-town show down! Bruins might have a home pool advantage with the finals at Spieker. But for the Women’s NC game last season it was also at Spieker and the Trojans prevailed. Stay tuned.