The Stanford Cardinal, after topping the then-3rd-ranked Cal Golden Bears by 44 points on senior day last weekend, finished their dual meet season undefeated, and the result was a position on top of the final 2015-2016 poll from the CSCAA.
Among the notches on their belt this season are wins over #4 USC, #6 Cal, #14 Arizona, and #19 UCLA, though they did fall to #8 Texas A&M at the Aggie-hosted Art Adamson Invitational mid-season.
The big season-ending victory over their rivals jumped Cal ahead of former #1 Georgia, who didn’t lose since the last poll was released, but also didn’t have any wins on the scale of those earned by Stanford in the last 2 weekends.
Meanwhile, Michigan, USC, and Virginia all made big moves up the standings, while Cal, Texas, and Texas A&M all slid but remained in the top 10. The biggest movers in the latest poll is the team from North Carolina State returns to the top 10 where they were early in the season. While the Wolfpack went 1-1 in their only meet since the last poll was released, the win was by 74 points over #15 North Carolina, and the loss was by 10 points to #5 Virginia – enough to impress the pollsters anyway.
Dropping out of this week’s top 25 were Alabama and Yale, while South Carolina moved in to replace them. (Note: the last poll had a tie for 25th, which is why two teams left and only one team entered).
Editor’s Note: Below is the CSCAA’s official release. Please note that SwimSwam is not a voting member of the CSCAA poll committee.
February 16, 2016 – A pair of wins against top ten teams have propelled the Stanford University women’s swimming and diving team to the top of the final Division I Women’s College Swimming Coaches Association / TYR Top 25. The Pac-12 Conference three of the top five spots in the ranking.
The Cardinal wrapped up a perfect 8-0 dual meet season with a 172-128 win against #4 California (6-2).
Upon learning of the result, Stanford head coach Greg Meehan expressed pride in his team. “I’m happy for our Senior Class to finish their dual meet careers in this fashion. They have been incredible leaders for us.” The University of Georgia, which wrapped up its 14th undefeated season in school history (9-0) fell to second just ahead of Michigan (6-1). Southern California (8-2) moved up to fourth with a 153-147 win over sixth-ranked California.
Ohio State (11-2) made the biggest jump, moving up seven spots to #18 following wins over Wright State, Kentucky and West Virginia. Louisville took the biggest hit in the polls, dropping seven spots to #17 following a 159-139 setback to #13 Indiana.
Most teams now turn their attention to their respective conference championships and, in March, the NCAA Championships. Meehan explained, “As great as it is to be recognized by our peers, we still have our biggest meets in front of us. Our goals haven’t changed and we are continuing to work to be the best version of ourselves as we head to Pac-12’s and NCAA’s.”
Division I – Women
| Rank | Prev | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Stanford | 245 |
| 2 | 1 | Georgia | 234 |
| 3 | 6 | Michigan | 221 |
| 4 | 7 | Southern Cal | 208 |
| 5 | 8 | Virginia | 206 |
| 6 | 3 | California | 204 |
| 7 | 4 | Texas | 196 |
| 8 | 5 | Texas A & M | 183 |
| 9 | 9 | Florida | 165 |
| 10 | 15 | NC State | 154 |
| 11 | 11 | Auburn | 129 |
| 12 | 17 | Wisconsin | 124 |
| 13 | 12 | Indiana | 120 |
| 14 | 14 | Arizona | 115 |
| 15 | 16 | North Carolina | 111 |
| 16 | 13 | Tennessee | 107 |
| 17 | 10 | Louisville | 99 |
| 18 | 25 | Ohio State | 81 |
| 19 | 19 | UCLA | 79 |
| 20 | 20 | LSU | 54 |
| 21 | 18 | Purdue | 51 |
| 22 | 24 | Minnesota | 44 |
| 23 | 21 | Missouri | 39 |
| 24 | NR | South Carolina | 24 |
| 25 | 22 | Penn State | 22 |
Also Receiving Votes:
Alabama 20, Yale 13, Duke 2
Voting Members
Division I Women
- Dan Colella – Duke
- Roric Fink – Texas
- Naya Higashijima – UCLA
- Tanica Jamison – Texas A&M
- Mike Keeler – San Diego
- Colleen Murphy – Air Force
- Sue Novitsky – Illinois
- Katie Robinson – Tulane
- Suzanne Yee – Princeton
Cal swimmers are all excellent. The full potential of each Cal swimmer is not being unleashed. Very concerning situation.
That was the other team I was going to comment on. But I guess when you get towards the bottom it can be a crapshoot.
For those curious, I’ve added the voting members above. Remember that with so few voters, one or two voters can, if they so choose, have significant impacts on the ultimate results. Men’s voters are below as well:
Division I Men
Mandy Commons-Disalle – Cincinnati
Chad Craddock – UMBC
McGee Moody – South Carolina
Vic Riggs – West Virginia
Bill Roberts – Navy
Dave Salo – Southern California
Brian Schrader – Denver
Colin Shannahan – Wagner
Gary Taylor – NC State
This was in reply to the South Carolina comment. The reply button didn’t work on my phone.
Aren’t points based on times people have swum? Isn’t that how dual meets work? You get points for the times you swim? Your argument is confusing.
These rankings are based on points, not times that the swimmers have on each team. It’s not a big deal, we will see who is on top at NCAA’s.
Aren’t points based on times people have swum? Isn’t that how dual meets work? You get points for the times you swim? Your argument is confusing.
South Carolina making the list seems a bit high for them
Michigan women….. overrated!
Michigan at #3 seems a bit high to me. They lost to Virginia in November.
LOL that was November..
They picked up Rose Bi though, not an insignificant add.
I still don’t see them beating USC in a dual meet. USC has a faster top time in 8 out of 14 events with consistent depth. For example, USC has four women under 2:00 in the 200 fly, which Michigan has none. USC has 3 under 2:12 in the 200 breast, Michigan has none. In many events where Michigan has the top time, USC is within a few tenths. Even with their new addition, I don’t think they are better than USC.