Courtesy: Collegiate Water Polo
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of Southern California remains the top-ranked team in women’s water polo as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2021 Week 6/March 17 Women’s Varsity National Top 25, Division III Top 5, CWPA Top 4 and CWPA Division III Top 5 Polls.
The Division III Top 5 Poll begins this week and is cut-down from the normal Top 10 due to fewer Division III programs electing to compete during the COVID-19 impacted 2021 season.
The University of Michigan remains unanimous top selection in the CWPA Top 4 Poll, while Austin College is a unanimous pick in the CWPA Division III Top 5.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Golden Coast Conference, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Big West Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and the CWPA based on the cumulative results of the season, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during the season.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 25 (WEEK 6/MARCH 17)
The University of Southern California hangs on at No. 1 in the Week 6/March 17 Women’s Varsity Top 25 Poll.
USC (99 points) falls one point shy of remaining a unanimous top selection as the Trojans’ hold on the top spot shrinks from six to four points this week. An old nemesis moves into the No. 2 spot behind USC following a one-week run at No. 3 as Stanford University (95 points) edges past the University of California-Los Angeles (94 points) to take over as the national runner-up.
UCLA slips to No. 3 with Arizona State University (88 points) edging out the University of California-Irvine (84 points) to assume the No. 4 spot. UC-Irvine slides to No. 5 and the University of California (79 points) retains the No. 6 position.
The University of Hawaii (72 points) acquires company at No. 7 as the University of Michigan (72 points) pulls even to ti the Rainbow Wahine. The University of California-Santa Barbara (66 points) and the University of California-San Diego (65 points) once again complete the Top 10 as the programs remain at No. 9 and 10, respectively, for another week.
Fresno State University (60 points) and the University of California-Davis (60 points) rate in a tie at No. 11, while the duo of Indiana University (47 points) and University of the Pacific (47 points) are deadlocked at No. 13.
San Diego State University (45 points), Long Beach State University (41 points), San Jose State University (38 points) and Loyola Marymount University (30 points) stand at No. 15-to-18 with the pair of Marist College (26 points) and Azusa Pacific University (26 points) tying at No. 19.
California Baptist University (20 points) and Santa Clara University (14 points) both move up one place to take over at No. 21 and 22 as Bucknell University (10 points) slips back to No. 23.
Previously unranked La Salle University (6 points) cracks the Top 25 at No. 24.
The final position is a three-way tie as Iona College (4 points), Saint Francis University (4 points) and Salem University (4 points) share the No. 25 slot.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 6/MARCH 17) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | Stanford University | 3 | 95 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 2 | 94 |
| 4 | Arizona State University | 5 | 88 |
| 5 | University of California-Irvine | 4 | 84 |
| 6 | University of California | 6 | 79 |
| 7 (T) | University of Michigan | 8 | 72 |
| 7 (T) | University of Hawaii | 7 | 72 |
| 9 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 9 | 66 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 65 |
| 11 (T) | University of California-Davis | 12 | 60 |
| 11 (T) | Fresno State University | 11 | 60 |
| 13 (T) | Indiana University | 13 | 47 |
| 13 (T) | University of the Pacific | 17 (T) | 47 |
| 15 | San Diego State University | 14 | 45 |
| 16 | Long Beach State University | 15 (T) | 41 |
| 17 | San Jose State University | 15 (T) | 38 |
| 18 | Loyola Marymount University | 17 (T) | 30 |
| 19 (T) | Azusa Pacific University | 20 | 26 |
| 19 (T) | Marist College | 19 | 26 |
| 21 | California Baptist University | 22 | 20 |
| 22 | Santa Clara University | 23 | 14 |
| 23 | Bucknell University | 21 | 10 |
| 24 | La Salle University | NR | 6 |
| 25 (T) | Iona College | 24 | 4 |
| 25 (T) | Saint Francis University | 25 | 4 |
| 25 (T) | Salem University | RV | 4 |
| RV | Villanova University | RV | 1 |
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 5 (PRESEASON/MARCH 17)
California Lutheran University leads the inaugural 2021 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 5 Poll.
The Division III rankings are unique for 2021 as Cal Lutheran, Chapman University and the University of Redlands of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) elected to compete, while the California Institute of Technology, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Occidental College, the University of La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Whittier College are taking off the season due to the pandemic. In the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Connecticut College, Macalester College and Utica College are competing in minimal schedules and Monmouth College is taking off the season prior to eliminating women’s water polo following the 2020-21 academic year.
Austin College, Carthage College, Grove City College, Penn State Behrend and Wittenberg University will contest full CWPA Division III league seasons and are slated to compete for the league’s Division III title at Carthage on April 17-18.
Due to the number of teams competing, the normally Division III Top 10 poll was cut down to five teams to maintain proportionality between the number of competing programs and national ranking size.
In the preseason poll, Cal Lutheran (97 points) holds a two-point lead over Redlands (95 points) to start the year at No. 1. Chapman (92 points) comes in at No. 3 with Austin (85 points) and Carthage (48 points) completing the Top 5.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 5 (PRESEASON/MARCH 17) |
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| Rank | Team | Final 2020 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | California Lutheran University | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | 8 | 95 |
| 3 | Chapman University | 7 | 92 |
| 4 | Austin College | 5 (T) | 85 |
| 5 | Carthage College | NR | 48 |
| RV | Wittenberg University | NR | 33 |
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION TOP 4 (WEEK 6/MARCH 17)
Four-time defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion the University of Michigan remains the top team in the league as the Wolverines lead the 2021 CWPA Top Four Week 6/March 17 Top Four Poll as a unanimous No. 1 selection.
The 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 league champion, Michigan (100 points) retains a five-point lead over runner-up Bucknell University (95 points) as the poll remains unchanged from last week.
Saint Francis University (90 points) and first-year varsity program Mount St. Mary’s University (85 points) complete the Top Four.
The poll is a change from the previously released Top Five as George Washington University, Princeton University, Harvard University and Brown University elected to not compete in 2021. George Washington will eliminate women’s water polo at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION TOP 4 (WEEK 6/MARCH 17) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | University of Michigan | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Bucknell University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Saint Francis University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 4 | 85 |
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION DIVISION III TOP 5 (WEEK 1/MARCH 17)
2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III runner-up Austin College maintains its preseason ranking as the Kangaroos stand at No. 1 in the Week 1/March 17 CWPA Division III Top 5 Poll.
A unanimous top selection, the ‘Roos hold a seven-point lead over Carthage College (93 points) with Wittenberg University (91 points) coming in at No. 3.
Grove City College (84 points) and Penn State Behrend (82 points) complete the Top Five.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION DIVISION III TOP 5 (WEEK 1/MARCH 17) |
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| Rank | Team | 2021 Preseason Poll |
Points |
| 1 | Austin College | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Carthage College | 2 | 93 |
| 3 | Wittenberg University | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | Grove City College | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | Penn State Behrend | 5 | 82 |
