The University of California-Los Angeles, Whittier College and Princeton University remain on top of the 2014 Men’s Varsity Week 9/November 5 National Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 Polls.
For the first time in five weeks, the No. 1 position in the nation does not change as UCLA holds onto the top spot with Stanford University and the University of Southern California staying pat at No. 2 and 3, respectively. The first change in the National Top 20 occurs at No. 4 as Long Beach State University jumps to No. 4 and dislodges the University of California. Overall, five of the positions in the Top 10 and nine of the Top 20 change hands this week as the poll experienced some significant changes.
Whittier remains the top pick in the Division III ranks as the Poets once again garnered 99 points to top a Division III Top 10 Poll which underwent major changes for the third week in a row.
The CWPA Top 10 also experiences minor changes as the Tigers of Princeton continue to top the rankings as the unanimous choice of the pollsters. Brown University, Bucknell University, St. Francis College Brooklyn and Harvard University remain at No. 2-to-5 as the league teams prepare for the Northern and Southern Division Championships this weekend at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the CWPA, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2014 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 9)
The University of California-Los Angeles, which topped the Week 3-5 rankings, remains the No. 1 team in the country as the Bruins pick up 100 points to rate as the unanimous top pick in the Week 9/November 5 National Top 20 Poll.
UCLA, which returned to the No. 1 spot last week to complete a four-week run in which the top spot changed hands, are followed by Stanford University (94 points) and the University of Southern California (92 points) as the Top Three positions remain unchanged from the Week 8 voting.
The first change in the Top 20 comes at No. 4 as Long Beach State University (84 points) leapfrogs the University of California (81 points). Cal slips to No. 5, the University of California-San Diego (73 points) hangs on at No. 6 and the duo of the University of the Pacific (71 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (64 points) exchange the No. 7 and 8 slots.
Princeton University (63 points) clings to the No. 9 berth for another week to rate as the first non-California team in the National Top 20, while Pepperdine University (50 points) moves into the Top 10 after ranking at No. 11 last week.
Brown University (45 points) inches up two places to take over at No. 11, with the University of California-Irvine (44 points) and Bucknell University (44 points) moving into a tie at No. 12.
The University of California-Davis (38 points) and the United States Air Force Academy (27 points) stay at No. 14 and 15, with Loyola Marymount University (25 points) rising to No. 16.
St. Francis College Brooklyn (22 points) remains at No. 17, with Santa Clara University (15 points), Harvard University (13 points) and Whittier College (5 points) completing the Top 20.
2014 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 9)
The Poets of Whittier College (99 points), which are ranked at No. 20 in the National Top 20 Poll, remain at No. 1 in the Week 9/November 5 National Division III Top 10 Poll.
Behind Whittier, Chapman University (96 points) moves closer to challenging the Poets for the top spot by staying at No. 2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (86 points), which was tied at No. 5 last week, glides up to No. 3, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (82 points) remains locked in at No. 4.
Johns Hopkins University (77 points), which was tied with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at No. 5 last week, acquires sole possession of the position based on the November 5 balloting.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (75 points) and California Lutheran University (75 points) move into a tie at No. 6 after rating at No. 8 and 7, respectively, last week.
The University of Redlands (66 points), University of La Verne (59 points) and Washington & Jefferson College (35 points) complete the Top 10, with Connecticut College (25 points) also receiving votes.
2014 Men’s Varsity CWPA Top 10 (Week 9)
The Tigers of Princeton University continue as the top rated team in the league as the squad picked up 100 points in the Week 9/November 5 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 Poll.
Princeton, which finished second to St. Francis College Brooklyn last season in the CWPA Championship title game and has been ranked at No. 1 since the Preseason balloting, tops a league poll which experienced some minor changes this week.
Northern Division frontrunner Brown University (94 points) stays in striking distance of the Tigers as the Bears continue at No. 2 for the third consecutive week.
Bucknell University (89 points), St. Francis (86 points), Harvard University (81 points) and the United States Naval Academy (74 points) continue at No. 3-to-6, respectively.
The first change in the Top 10 come at No. 7-to-10 as Johns Hopkins University (67 points), George Washington University (63 points), Iona College (62 points) and Fordham University (33 points) move up from No. 8-to-Receiving Votes.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (26 points) also received votes this week.
Water Polo News courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association.