Cal Men’s Water Polo Takes Over Top Spot In Varsity National Rankings

Courtesy: Collegiate Water Polo

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Golden Bears of the University of California arise from a nearly three and a half year hibernation to once again hold the No. 1 position in the national rankings as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the Week 3/February 10 Winter 2021 Men’s Varsity National Top 10 and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.

California, which last ranked at No. 1 in the September 20/Week 3 poll during the 2017 season in the aftermath of capturing the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, once again reigns on top following victories over the University of California-Los Angeles (11-8 OT W), the University of Southern California (11-8 W) and previously top-ranked Stanford University (16-11 W) in the third week of a topsy-turvy men’s water polo season.

In the MAWPC Top Five rankings, defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University shatters a tie with the United States Naval Academy to acquire sole possession of the top spot.

Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Golden Coast Conference, 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 will be compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the abbreviated Winter 2021 season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship slated for March 18, 20 and 21 on the campus of Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

WINTER 2021 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 10 (WEEK 3)

Since its last top billing on September 30, 2017, the Golden Bears of the University of California pursued the No. 1 spot in the National Men’s Water Polo rankings.  On day 1,239 of its quest, Cal achieves the milestone as the team breaks out of a three-way tie with the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles in the Week 2/February 3 National Men’s Varsity Top 10 Poll to surpass previously No.1 and defending National Champion Stanford University for the top spot in the Week 3/February 10 voting. The National Top 10 is a change from the normally released Top 20 due to a decrease in the number of varsity programs competing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The change at the top of the rankings comes about as Stanford fell to California (98 points) by a 16-11 score at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatics Center in the first weekend of competition for the Cardinal.  Cal, which also topped UCLA (11-8 OT W) and host USC (11-8 W) over the weekend, is not unblemished against the rest of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) “Big Four” as the Golden Bears split versus UCLA (17-16 W, 10-7 L) and USC (12-9 W, 9-6 L) on January 23-24 at home.

UCLA (95 points) remains at No. 2 with Stanford (91 points) slipping back to No. 3.  USC (86 points), which was tied with California and UCLA last week at No. 2, drops to No. 4 to account for the changes in the Top 10.

The remainder of the Top 10 remain consistent with the Week 2/February 3 balloting as Pepperdine University (81 points), Loyola Marymount University (73 points), California Baptist University (69 points), Bucknell University (60 points), the United States Air Force Academy (59 points) and the United States Naval Academy (56 points) hang on at No. 5-to-10, respectively.

WINTER 2021 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 3)

Defending league champion Bucknell University reacquires sole possession of the No. 1 position in the Week 3/February 10 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Poll.

The 2016 and 2019 MAWPC Champion Bison (97 points) – which held sole custody of the No. 1 spot in the MAWPC’s Preseason Poll before being tied with the United States Naval Academy in the Week 1 and 2 voting – pulls ahead irregardless of neither team competing in a game so far this season.

Navy (92 points) – which will host Bucknell at Scott Natatorium for the Bison’s season and league opener on February 13 – falls back to No. 2.

Fordham University (90 points) slips into a tie with George Washington University (90 points) at No. 3, while La Salle University (49 points) retains its previously position at No. 5.