Courtesy: Collegiate Water Polo
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of Southern California maintains its status at No. 1 as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2021 Week 4/March 3 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 and CWPA Top Five Polls.
The Division III Top 10 and CWPA Division III Top 5 Polls are deferred until a later date pending confirmation of which teams will compete during the COVID-19 impacted 2021 season.
The University of Michigan also retains its preseason, Week 1, Week 2 and Week billing as the Wolverines are a unanimous top selection in the CWPA Top 4 Poll. The poll shrinks from a Top Five to a Top Four as George Washington University elected to not compete in 2021.
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 4/MARCH 3)
The University of Southern California holds onto the position as the No. 1 team in the nation by three points in the Week 4/March 3 Women’s Varsity Top 25 Poll.
USC (99 points), which held a 98-96 lead over Stanford University (96 points) in the preseason balloting, a 98-97 margin versus the Cardinal in Week 1, a 99-96 spread in Week 2 and a 98-to-97 in Week 3, one again leads their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) nemesis by a three points.
The University of California-Los Angeles (93 points) remains at No. 3 for another seven-day run, while the first change comes at No. 4 with the University of California-Irvine (84 points) returning to the No. 4 spot after a one-week hiatus at No. 5.
A unique occurrence comes at No. 5 as the University of Michigan (78 points), the University of Hawaii (78 points), Arizona State University (78 points) and the University of California (78 points) rise and sink for a four-way tie midway through the Top 10.
The University of California-Santa Barbara (68 points) and the University of California-San Diego (64 points) remain at No. 9 and 10, respectively.
The University of California-Davis (58 points) takes over at No. 11, Fresno State University (57 points) drops to No. 12 to stay ahead of Indiana University (49 points) and Loyola Marymount University (47 points) which remain at No. 13 and 14.
San Jose State University (43 points), San Diego State University (42 points), Long Beach State University (38 points) and University of the Pacific (37 points) readjust to No. 15-to-18, while Marist College (27 points) hangs on at No. 19.
California Baptist University (21 points), Bucknell University (20 points) and Azusa Pacific University (17 points) rate at No. 20-22with Iona College (10 points) and Santa Clara University (10 points) tying at No. 23.
Salem University (4 points) concludes the Top 25 in the final position.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY TOP 25 (WEEK 4/MARCH 3) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | Stanford University | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 93 |
| 4 | University of California-Irvine | 5 | 84 |
| 5 (T) | University of California | 8 | 78 |
| 5 (T) | Arizona State University | 4 | 78 |
| 5 (T) | University of Michigan | 6 | 78 |
| 5 (T) | University of Hawaii | 7 | 78 |
| 9 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 9 | 68 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 64 |
| 11 | University of California-Davis | 12 | 58 |
| 12 | Fresno State University | 11 | 57 |
| 13 | Indiana University | 13 | 49 |
| 14 | Loyola Marymount University | 14 | 47 |
| 15 | San Jose State University | 16 | 43 |
| 16 | San Diego State University | 17 (T) | 42 |
| 17 | Long Beach State University | 15 | 38 |
| 18 | University of the Pacific | 17 (T) | 37 |
| 19 | Marist College | 19 | 27 |
| 20 | California Baptist University | 21 | 21 |
| 21 | Bucknell University | 20 | 20 |
| 22 | Azusa Pacific University | 22 | 17 |
| 23 (T) | Santa Clara University | 24 | 10 |
| 23 (T) | Iona College | 23 | 10 |
| 25 | Salem University | 25 | 4 |
| RV | Saint Francis University | RV | 3 |
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION TOP 4 (WEEK 3/FEBRUARY 24)
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 4/March 3 Poll as a unanimous No. 1 selection.
The 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 league champion, Michigan (100 points) holds a five-point lead over runner-up Bucknell University (95 points).
Saint Francis University (89 points) and first-year varsity program Mount St. Mary’s University (86 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.
2021 WOMEN’S VARSITY COLLEGIATE WATER POLO ASSOCIATION TOP 4 (WEEK 4/MARCH 3) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | University of Michigan | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Bucknell University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Saint Francis University | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 4 (T) | 86 |
Note: The Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Top 5 Preseason Polls will be released following confirmation of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and CWPA Division III teams commitment to compete during the 2021 women’s season.