BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of California-Los Angeles remains at No. 1 in the nation, while two others climb to the top spots in their respective rankings as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2015 Men’s Varsity Week 1/September 9 National Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 Polls.
Following a weekend which saw traditionally Division III teams knock off teams in the National Top 20 to stake their claim for a spot among the nation’s best regardless of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) class, the top team in the nation remains unchanged as the UCLA becomes a unanimous No. 1 choice in the National Top 20 poll.
However, the remainder of the rankings, including the rest of the Top 20, experienced significant changes as Johns Hopkins University dislodges Whittier College from the top position in the Division III Top 10 and Princeton University bumps Brown University from the paramount spot in the league’s CWPA Top 10 Poll.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the CWPA, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), 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 season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2015 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 1/September 9)
The 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of the University of California-Los Angeles retain the No. 1 position in the 2015 Week 1/September 9 National Top 20 Poll in grand fashion by becoming a unanimous top pick.
The Bruins (100 points) lead a Top 20 which experienced no significant changes in the Top Five with the remainder of the rankings featuring a shuffling of teams.
The University of Southern California (94 points), the University of California (91 points), Stanford University (85 points) and the University of the Pacific (81 points) hold firm behind UCLA at No. 2-to-5, respectively, after garnering the spots in the Preseason Top 20 Poll released on August 27.
UCLA, USC, Cal, Stanford and Pacific hold a unique position in the Week 1 rankings as the quintet is joined by No. 11 Princeton University and No. 15 the United States Naval Academy as the only programs to retain their Preason polling position after the opening weekend of competition.
Changes start at No. 6 as the University of California-Santa Barbara (75 points) leaps over formerly No. 6-ranked Long Beach State University (67 points). The University of California-Irvine (61 points) and the University of California-San Diego (57 points) both rise one position to take over at No. 8 and 9, respectivley, with previously No. 8-ranked Pepperdine University (54 points) falling back to No. 10 to complete an All-California Top 10 for the second time this season.
Princeton (49 points) assumes sole control at No. 11, while the University of California-Davis (45 points) inches in front of Brown University (44 points) as the Aggies and Bears stand at No. 12 and 13, respectively.
San Jose State University (33 points), which returned to varsity competition for the first time since 1981 with a victory against Santa Clara University over the weekend, takes over at No. 14 with Navy (29 points) anchored at No. 15 and the United States Air Force Academy (25 points) soaring up to No. 16.
Bucknell University (11 points) stampedes up the rankings to No. 17 prior to the Division III trio ofJohns Hopkins University (9 points), Whittier College (9 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (8 points) rounding out the Top 20 in a tie at No. 19 and sole possession of the No. 20 slot, respectively.
The Blue Jays, Poets and Engineers ranking in the Top 20 makes history as it is believed to mark the first time three Division III schools cracked the all-inclusive (Division I, II, III, NAIA) National Top 20.
Outside the Top 20, eight schools received one or more votes as a total of 28 institutions garnered notice in the Week 1 poll.
2015 Varsity Top 20 (Week 1/September 9) |
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| Rank | Team | 2015 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 2 | 94 |
| 3 | University of California | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | Stanford University | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 75 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 67 |
| 8 | University of California-Irvine | 9 | 61 |
| 9 | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 57 |
| 10 | Pepperdine University | 8 | 54 |
| 11 | Princeton University | 11 (T) | 49 |
| 12 | University of California-Davis | 13 | 45 |
| 13 | Brown University | 11 (T) | 44 |
| 14 | San Jose State University | 16 | 33 |
| 15 | United States Naval Academy | 15 | 29 |
| 16 | United States Air Force Academy | 17 (T) | 25 |
| 17 | Bucknell University | 19 (T) | 11 |
| 18 (T) | Johns Hopkins University | NR | 9 |
| 18 (T) | Whittier College | RV | 9 |
| 20 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 19 (T) | 8 |
| RV | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 17 (T) | 7 |
| RV | University of Redlands | NR | 4 |
| RV | Loyola Marymount University | 14 | 4 |
| RV | Harvard University | RV | 3 |
| RV | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | NR | 3 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | NR | 1 |
| RV | California Baptist University | RV | 1 |
2015 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 1/September 9)
The Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University (99 points) take over at No. 1 in the Week 1/September 9 National Division III Top 10 Poll.
JHU dislodges the reigning Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champion Whittier College Poets (93 points) which ranked at No. 1 in the final 2014 and Preseason 2015 Polls.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (90 points) moves up to No. 3 after tying with the University of Redlands and California Lutheran University at No. 5 in the preseason voting. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (83 points), which was No. 2 in the Preseason balloting, slips to 4 with Redlands (78 points) staying at No. 5.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (74 points), Chapman University (67 points) and Cal Lutheran (63 points) move to No. 6-to-8, respectively, with Occidental College (47 points) and the University of La Verne (35 points) rounding out the Top 10 at No. 9 and 10.
Washington & Jefferson College (25 points) and Connecticut College (24 points) also received votes.
2015 Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 1/September 9) |
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| Rank | Team | 2015 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 | 95 |
| 2 | Whittier College | 1 | 93 |
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 (T) | 90 |
| 4 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 83 |
| 5 | University of Redlands | 5 (T) | 78 |
| 6 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 8 | 74 |
| 7 | Chapman University | 4 | 67 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 5 (T) | 63 |
| 9 | Occidental College | RV | 47 |
| 10 | University of La Verne | 9 | 35 |
| RV | Washington & Jefferson College | 10 | 25 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 24 |
2015 Men’s Varsity CWPA Top 10 (Week 1/September 9)
After finishing second at the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship and rating at No. 3 in the 2015 CWPA Preseason Top 10 Poll, the Tigers of Princeton University now rate as the No. 1 selection in the 2015 Week 1/September 9 CWPA Top 10 Poll.
Princeton (95 points), which fell to Brown University by a 7-6 final in the CWPA Championship title game at the United States Naval Academy for the league’s 2014 crown, edges out the champion Bears (94 points) for the top position by a single point after one weekend of competition.
Navy (92 points), which finished in Third Place at the league’s championship tournament last year in Annapolis, Md., slips back to No. 3 after rating at No. 2 in the preseason.
Johns Hopkins University (87 points) remains at No. 4, while Bucknell University (78 points) edges the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (77 points) for the No. 5 slot.
Harvard University (68 points) and St. Francis College Brooklyn (68 points) are tied at No. 7, whileFordham University (60 points) and George Washington University (45 points) exchange the No. 9 and 10 berths from their Preseason rankings to complete the Top 10.
Mercyhurst University (11 points) also received votes.
2015 Varsity CWPA Top 10 (Week 1/September 9) |
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| Rank | Team | 2015 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 3 | 95 |
| 2 | Brown University | 1 | 94 |
| 3 | United States Naval Academy | 2 | 92 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | Bucknell University | 6 (T) | 78 |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 77 |
| 7 (T) | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 8 | 68 |
| 7 (T) | Harvard University | 6 (T) | 68 |
| 9 | Fordham University | 10 | 60 |
| 10 | George Washington University | 9 | 45 |
| RV | Mercyhurst University | NR | 11 |
Swimming news courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association.