Squads receiving votes in the CWPA top 25 rankings were part of 49 of the 60 matches in Week 3 of the women’s NCAA water polo season. Ranked teams maintained their form with just four upsets going in the books as La Jolla, California; Princeton, New Jersey; and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, took the spotlight, hosting all but six collegiate women’s water polo contests.
Triton Invitational
Rankings held on Day 1 of the Triton Invitational with #1 USC, #3 UCLA, #6 UC Irvine, #7 UC Santa Barbara and #8 Michigan each garnering two victories to set up Sunday’s action.
Across the 32-match affair, each of the 14 ranked teams competing managed at least one win.
In the end, however, it was #1 USC who claimed the event title, the Trojans’ sixth straight, holding off #3 UCLA 10-3 to move to 12-0 on the year and garner its 28th straight win dating to last season. USC has now outscored opponents 191-34. Meanwhile, the title match loss snapped the Bruins season-opening 13-match win streak.
In the eight placement matches on Sunday, lower ranked teams finally broke through.
- #25 Marist defeated #21 Cal State Northridge 8-7 in overtime for 11th place.
- #20 UC San Diego bested #16 Long Beach State 9-6 for ninth place.
- #9 Arizona State turned back #7 UC Santa Barbara 7-5 for fifth place.
- #8 Michigan edged out #6 UC Irvine 9-8 for third place.
Princeton Invitational
#14 Princeton and RV Brown each picked up two wins in Princeton, New Jersey. The host Tigers outscored Iona (17-7) and St. Francis-Brooklyn (14-6), while Brown moved past Villanova (12-4) and Iona (15-3).
Bucknell Invitational
#17 Harvard, #18 Wagner and #24 Bucknell combined for 10 victories at the two-day affair in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. #17 Harvard picked up four wins, handling Gannon (18-5), Salem (11-5), Siena (16-8) and edging past #18 Wagner 11-10 with two scores in the final quarter.
#18 Wagner bested Saint Francis (PA)(21-3), Gannon (17-3) and #24 Bucknell (13-3).
The host Bison scored victories over Salem (14-4), Siena (11-3) and LaSalle (16-2).
Other Action
#4 Cal played just one contest, but added another Top 10 victory to its resume, besting #10 Pacific 15-11 on Friday.
#25 Azusa Pacific also notched two wins on Friday, dominating Fresno Pacific (17-8) and holding off Cal State Monterey Bay 9-4.
| Date/Time | Result | Winner Recap | Loser Recap |
| Feb. 8 | |||
| Concordia (CA) def. Whittier 15-6 | Concordia (CA) Recap | Whittier Recap | |
| #15 Fresno State def. Fresno Pacific 23-4 | Fresno State Recap | Fresno Pacific Recap | |
| Feb. 9 | |||
| #25 Azusa Pacific def. Fresno Pacific 17-8 | Azusa Pacific Recap | Fresno Pacific Recap | |
| #4 Cal def. #10 Pacific 15-11 | Cal Recap | Pacific Recap | |
| #25 Azusa Pacific def. Cal State Monterey Bay 9-4 | Azusa Pacific Recap | Cal State Monterey Bay Recap | |
| Cal State Monterey Bay def. Fresno Pacific 11-9 | Cal State Monterey Bay Recap | Fresno Pacific Recap | |
| Triton Invitational (LaJolla, Calif.) | |||
| #3 UCLA def. Santa Clara 17-2 | UCLA Recap | Santa Clara Recap | |
| #1 USC def. Pomona-Pitzer 15-4 | USC Recap | Pomona-Pitzer Recap | |
| #11 UC Davis def. #25 Marist 11-7 | UC Davis Recap | Marist Recap | |
| #13 Loyola Marymount def. #16 Long Beach State 10-9 | Loyola Marymount Recap | Long Beach State Recap | |
| #6 UC Irvine def. RV Cal State East Bay 15-4 | UC Irvine Recap | Cal State East Bay Recap | |
| #9 Arizona State def. #22 San Diego State 12-7 | Arizona State Recap | San Diego State Recap | |
| #7 UC Santa Barbara def. #20 UC San Diego 4-3 | UCSB Recap | UC San Diego Recap | |
| #8 Michigan def. #21 Cal State Northridge 14-5 | Michigan Recap | CSUN Recap | |
| #25 Marist def. Santa Clara 10-8 | Marist Recap | Santa Clara Recap | |
| #16 Long Beach State def. Pomona-Pitzer 17-8 | Long Beach State Recap | Pomona-Pitzer Recap | |
| #3 UCLA def. #11 UC Davis 6-3 | UCLA Recap | UC Davis Recap | |
| #1 USC def. #13 Loyola Marymount 16-5 | USC Recap | Loyola Marymount Recap | |
| #20 UC San Diego def. RV Cal State East Bay 15-4 | UC San Diego Recap | Cal State East Bay Recap | |
| #21 Cal State Northridge def. San Diego State 7-3 | CSUN Recap | San Diego State Recap | |
| #6 UC Irvine def. #7 UC Santa Barbara 11-7 | UC Irvine Recap | UCSB Recap | |
| #8 Michigan def. #9 Arizona State 6-5 | Michigan Recap | Arizona State Recap | |
| Princeton Invitational (Princeton, N.J.) | |||
| #14 Princeton def. Iona 17-7 | Princeton Recap | Iona Recap | |
| RV Brown def. Villanova 12-4 | Brown Recap | Villanova Recap | |
| George Washington def. St. Francis-Brooklyn 13-10 | George Washington Recap | St. Francis-Brooklyn Recap | |
| RV Brown def. Iona 15-3 | Brown Recap | Iona Recap | |
| Villanova def. George Washington 14-11 | Villanova Recap | George Washington Recap | |
| #14 Princeton def. St. Francis-Brooklyn 14-6 | Princeton Recap | St. Francis-Brooklyn Recap | |
| Bucknell Invitational (Lewisburg, PA) | |||
| #18 Wagner def. Saint Francis (PA) 21-3 | Wagner Recap | Saint Francis Recap | |
| #24 Bucknell def. Salem 14-4 | Bucknell Recap | Salem Recap | |
| #17 Harvard def. Gannon 18-5 | Harvard Recap | Gannon Recap | |
| Siena def. LaSalle 18-6 | Siena Recap | LaSalle Recap | |
| #17 Harvard def. Salem 11-5 | Harvard Recap | Salem Recap | |
| #24 Bucknell def. Siena 11-3 | Bucknell Recap | Siena Recap | |
| #18 Wagner def. Gannon 17-3 | Wagner Recap | Gannon Recap | |
| Saint Francis (PA) def. LaSalle 9-7 | Saint Francis Recap | LaSalle Recap | |
| Feb. 10 | |||
| Bucknell Invitational (Lewisburg, PA) | |||
| #17 Harvard def. Siena 16-8 | Harvard Recap | Siena Recap | |
| #18 Wagner def. #24 Bucknell 13-3 | Wagner Recap | Bucknell Recap | |
| Saint Francis def. Gannon 8-6 | Saint Francis Recap | Gannon Recap | |
| LaSalle def. Salem 11-9 | LaSalle Recap | Salem Recap | |
| #17 Harvard def. #18 Wagner 11-10 | Harvard Recap | Wagner Recap | |
| Siena def. Gannon 12-10 | Sienna Recap | Gannon Recap | |
| Saint Francis (PA) def. Salem 12-10 | Saint Francis Recap | Salem Recap | |
| #24 Bucknell def. LaSalle 16-2 | Bucknell Recap | LaSalle Recap | |
| Triton Invitational (LaJolla, Calif.) | |||
| #22 San Diego State def. Pomona-Pitzer 6-5 OT | San Diego State Recap | Pomona-Pitzer Recap | |
| #9 Arizona State def. #13 Loyola Marymount 8-6 | Arizona State Recap | Loyola Marymount Recap | |
| #16 Long Beach State def. #21 Cal State Northridge 10-4 | Long Beach State Recap | CSUN Recap | |
| #7 UC Santa Barbara def. #11 UC Davis 11-5 | UCSB Recap | UC Davis Recap | |
| RV Cal State East Bay def. Santa Clara 8-7 | Cal State East Bay Recap | Santa Clara Recap | |
| #1 USC def. #8 Michigan 10-3 | USC Recap | Michigan Recap | |
| #20 UC San Diego def. #25 Marist 12-7 | UC San Diego Recap | Marist Recap | |
| #3 UCLA def. #6 UC Irvine 11-6 | UCLA Recap | UC Irvine Recap | |
| 15th Place | Pomona-Pitzer def. Santa Clara 8-6 OT | Pomona-Pitzer Recap | Santa Clara Recap |
| 7th Place | #11 UC Davis def. #13 Loyola Marymount 11-8 | UC Davis Recap | Loyola Marymount Recap |
| 13th Place | #22 San Diego State def. RV Cal State East Bay 10-3 | San Diego State Recap | Cal State East Bay Recap |
| 5th Place | #9 Arizona State def. #7 UC Santa Barbara 7-5 | Arizona State Recap | UCSB Recap |
| 11th Place | #25 Marist def. #21 Cal State Northridge 8-7 OT | Marist Recap | CSUN Recap |
| 3rd Place | #8 Michigan def. #6 UC Irvine 9-8 | Michigan Recap | UC Irvine Recap |
| 9th Place | #20 UC San Diego def. #16 Long Beach State 9-6 | UC San Diego Recap | Long Beach State Recap |
| 1st Place | #1 USC def. #3 UCLA 10-3 | USC Recap | UCLA Recap |