Press Release courtesy of CWPA.
The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Week 4/September 27 Polls for the 2017 season.
Following a victorious run at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, the University of California-Los Angeles ascends from No. 4 in the nation to No. 1 as the Bruins take over the top spot in the National Top 20 Poll. The Division III Top 10 Poll also sees a new team take over at No. 1 – two of them in fact – as Pomona-Pitzer Colleges gains company from both Whittier College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University hangs onto the top spot in the MAWPC Top Five rankings as a unanimous top selection, while 2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University once again edges out Princeton University for the No. 1 position in the NWPC Top Five.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NEWPC, 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.
2017 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 4/September 27)
In the wake of a tournament victory at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, the University of California-Los Angeles jumps three places to acquire the top spot in the Week 4/September 27 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
The Bruins (100 points) stands as a unanimous top pick as UCLA moves past the University of Southern California (95 points), defending National Champion the University of California (90 points) and Stanford University (85 points) to stand on top of the national men’s varsity water polo scene.
USC, UCLA and Stanford adjust to rate at No. 2-to-4, respectively, with the University of the Pacific (80 points) and Long Beach State University (75 points) continuing at No. 5 and 6 for another week.
The University of California-Irvine (70 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (64 points) rise and fall to stand at No. 7 and 8, while Pepperdine University (61 points) and the University of California-Davis (56 points) trade the No. 9 and 10 slots to round out the upper echelon of the Top 20.
Harvard University (44 points) and Princeton University (44 points) move into a tie at No. 11 with the University of California-San Diego (39 points), Brown University (32 points) and California Baptist University (26 points) continuing at No. 13-to-15.
St. Francis College Brooklyn (20 points) and Bucknell University (20 points) rate as equals at No. 16 with San Jose State University (17 points) breaking into the Top 20 at No. 18.
The final two spots in the Top 20 belong to four teams as the United States Air Force Academy (7 points), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges(7 points), Fordham University (7 points) and Loyola Marymount University (7 points) are knotted at No. 19.
2017 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/September 27) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 4 | 100 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | University of California | 1 | 90 |
| 4 | Stanford University | 3 | 85 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | University of California-Irvine | 10 | 70 |
| 8 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 64 |
| 9 | Pepperdine University | 9 | 61 |
| 10 | University of California-Davis | 8 | 56 |
| 11 (T) | Princeton University | 12 | 44 |
| 11 (T) | Harvard University | 11 | 44 |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 13 | 39 |
| 14 | Brown University | 14 | 32 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 15 | 26 |
| 16 (T) | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 16 | 20 |
| 16 (T) | Bucknell University | 17 | 20 |
| 18 | San Jose State University | RV | 17 |
| 19 (T) | United States Air Force Academy | NR | 7 |
| 19 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 | 7 |
| 19 (T) | Loyola Marymount University | 20 | 7 |
| 19 (T) | Fordham University | NR | 7 |
| RV | George Washington University | 18 | 3 |
| RV | Whittier College | NR | 3 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | NR | 1 |
| RV | University of Redlands | RV | 1 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 4/September 27)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges gain company at No. 1 in the Week 4/September 27 Division III Top 10 as the Poets ofWhittier College and the Engineers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology create a three-way tie for the top spot.
Pomona-Pitzer (92 points), Whittier (92 points) and MIT (92 points) now rate as equals due to the Sagehens suffering an overtime loss to the Poets last week.
Chapman University (89 points) slips back to No. 4 with Johns Hopkins University (80 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges(79 points) backing up to No. 5 and 6.
The University of Redlands (72 points) slides to No. 7, with California Lutheran University (65 points), the University of La Verne (59 points) and Occidental College (34 points) completing the Top 10.
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 4/September 27) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | Whittier College | 6 (T) | 92 |
| 1 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 92 |
| 1 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3 | 92 |
| 4 | Chapman University | 2 | 89 |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 (T) | 80 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 4 (T) | 79 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 6 (T) | 72 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 10 | 59 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 9 | 34 |
| RV | California Institute of Technology | RV | 11 |
| RV | Connecticut College | NR | 11 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 27)
Bucknell University retains its Preseason, Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 selection as the No. 1 team in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) as the Bison top the Week 4/September 27 Top Five Poll.
The 2016 MAWPC Champion Bison (100 points) are once again a unanimous top selection after previously earning 100 points in the Preseason, Week 2 and Week 3 polls.
Fordham University (95 points) moves up to No. 2 after defeating 2016 MAWPC Championship runner-up George Washington University (95 points) by an 8-7 score over the weekend in Washington, D.C.
The loss drops GW back to No. 3 with Wagner College (87 points) and Johns Hopkins University (80 points) completing the Top Five.
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 27) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Fordham University | 3 (T) | 95 |
| 3 | George Washington University | 2 | 88 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 3 (T) | 87 |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 5 | 80 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 27)
Inaugural/2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University continues its status as the best team in the NWPC as the Crimson edge out Princeton University by a single point for the third time in 21 days to top the Week 4/September 27 NWPC Top Five Poll.
Harvard (98 points), which was tied with Princeton (97 points) in the Week 1 voting, eked past the Tigers 98-97 last week and 97-to-96 in the Week 2 voting.
Brown University (90 points), St. Francis College Brooklyn (84 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (81 points) retain the No. 3-to-5 spots.
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 27) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Harvard University | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 81 |