Note: SwimSwam does not have a voting stake in the CSCAA Awards, which focus on dual meet viability. For rankings more geared towards NCAA prediction, stay tuned for our next round of Power Rankings, beginning next week.
Coming off of strong performances at the Art Adamson Invite, the Texas A&M women have jumped from #3 to #1 in the latest CSCAA (College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America) rankings.
Where the top programs are faltering in breaststroke, Texas A&M has breaststrokers in droves, holding 3 of the top 8 times nationwide in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes with a group of five different swimmers.
Former #1 Stanford, who also competed at the Art Adamson Invite, dropped to #2, with #6 Cal rising up to the third rank.
Division I Women
| Rank | Previous | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Texas A&M | 273 |
| 2 | 1 | Stanford | 266 |
| 3 | 6 | California | 243 |
| 4 | 4 | Michigan | 242 |
| 5 | 2 | Texas | 238 |
| 6 | 5 | Georgia | 221 |
| 7 | 7 | Tennessee | 206 |
| 8 | 10 | Louisville | 190 |
| 9 | 8 | Southern California | 179 |
| 10 | 9 | Indiana | 178 |
| 11 | 16 | Virginia | 144 |
| 12 | 13 | Auburn | 143 |
| 13 | 23 | Ohio State | 134 |
| 14 | 12 | NC State | 131 |
| 15 | 17 | Kentucky | 116 |
| 16 | 15 | Minnesota | 113 |
| 17 | 22 | Arizona | 103 |
| 18 | 18 | Wisconsin | 91 |
| 19 | 14 | Florida | 78 |
| 20 | 11 | Alabama | 64 |
| 21 | 21 | North Carolina | 59 |
| 22 | 21 | Notre Dame | 54 |
| 23 | 20 | Purdue | 37 |
| 24 | NR | South Carolina | 19 |
| 25 | NR | Virginia Tech | 16 |
Also Received Votes:
Arizona State (15), UCLA (7), Florida State (6), Duke (4), Houston (3), Arkansas (2)
Women’s Poll Committee
- Colleen Murphy, Air Force;
- Dan Colella, Duke;
- Ryan Wochomurka, Houston;
- Lars Jorgenson, Kentucky;
- Roric Fink, Texas;
- Katie Robinson, Tulane;
- Naya Higashijima, UCLA;
- Jennifer Buffin, Oregon State;
- David Geyer, LSU;
- Neil Harper, Arkansas;
- Jesse Moore, Northwestern;
- Jordan Wolfrum, Ohio State;
- Jeremy Kipp, Boise State
U Texas used to own the Lone Star college scene and the Aggies were mediocre nationally. Coach Steve B and his staff have very successfully (over the past 10 or so years) brought the Texas A&M women’s program to the fore, both in the SEC and nationally. I’m neither an alum nor a College Station resident, but have become a fan because I admire the job that the Aggies have done. I can remember when NOBODY would have included them in the same sentence when discussing the top of the women’s collegiate swimming pyramid (you know, Stanford, Auburn, Texas, Cal, Florida, etc). Coach Steve and his staff consistently help their athletes get way better than they were coming out of… Read more »
Great statement,and I know you said etc. but it is very disrespectful in my mind not to have Georgia in your list of “women’s collegiate swimming period” an argument could easily be made that over the past 20 years they have been the best and most consistent team year in and year out.
The mighty Lady Vols are coming…get ready
I’m awaiting!
Credit to Coach Bultman and Coach Jamison on what they have built, with at least 1 swimmer in the top 16 of every event except the mile.
What would really be interesting is instead of the NCAA Champtionships team format based on individual points, there was a team championship dual format. Top 8 teams compete in a dual format and you have brackets similar to other team sports. That would be really interesting and could change the way coaches recruit. Granted, it’s a pipe dream, but it would be really fun I think.
I would pay money to see this.
For what it’s worth, this is how NJ high school team champions are determined. Top 8 in each Group/Section square off in a dual meet elimination bracket. Not sure that it is done like this anywhere else. Some lovee it, some hate it.
That format has been proposed as a dual meet championship in December timeframe and championship format as is in March. I guess it hasn’t gotten much traction, but it is worth thinking about.
How about NCAAs, then the top four teams from NCAAs square off like a college football playoff? I would like to go to there.
Oh man thats sick. A post post season.
This is a awesome idea!
I think A&M and Stanford would be a really interesting dual meet. A&M could really take advantage of Stanford’s breaststroke weakness and current sprint weakness (if Simone is still out). Then they have a solid core in IM and back that could pose a threat to Eastin and Howe. Hu is a monster in dual meets which might give the Cards the edge but it would still be fun to see.
Stanford would destroy them. They don’t need Simone to win NCAA’s. Only way they could lose is Katie and Easton out also
Based on Art Adamson lineups and results, Stanford WOULD NOT destroy A&M in a dual meet. In fact, they wouldn’t even win. Your response is really confusing, because Swimswamswum said “in a dual meet” and you’re referring to “at NCAAs,” which I agree Stanford would still be a favorite at even without Simone.
https://staging.swimswam.com/swimulator/?type=swimulate&gender=Women&division=D1&division1=D1&team1=Texas+A%26M&season1=2018&meet1=Art+Adamson+Invitational+Worki&division2=D1&team2=Stanford&season2=2018&meet2=Art+Adamson+Invitational+Worki
If Stanford wanted to beat Texas A&M in a dual meet they could. I guarantee you Stanford who was undefeated last year and this year would win. And I just wanted to add the fact about Simone not being needed to win NCAA’s I’m quite aware we are talking about dual meets
Gotcha, so Stanford didn’t want to swim as fast as they could at Art Adamson, but would choose to do so in a dual meet against A&M. Makes sense.
So you think Stanford can’t beat them in a dual meet but will win NCAA’s?
I think Stanford CAN beat them in a dual meet. I just don’t think it’s as simple as “Stanford would dominate them if they wanted to.” I think if you run that dual meet 100 times, Stanford probably wins 60-65% of them, with the team they sent to Art Adamson (which was the premise).
I do think Stanford will win NCAAs. I think everyone outside of maybe College Station or Berkeley thinks they will win NCAAs. That’s not really a bold statement. With no Manuel, though, it tightens up a little – a relay DQ could put them in a danger zone.
Stanford would definitely be favored but it’ll be a close finish is my prediction.
Yep. That’s what Uberfan is saying. Pretty ridiculous. That “ snooty nose” Stanford attitude for ya. Hope this individual isn’t their typical fan. Wasn’t a dual meet but “The Farm” got “plowed” by A&M anyway. No doubt can’t handle that loss (ha! ha!).
You are “out of your mind”!! I’m all for A&M, but even I must admit it would be very close when it was all said & done! You must still be in a major “funk” after A&M brought the “ax” & took care of your forest in the Art Adamson Invite!
I don’t care about Stanford but you are deluding yourself if you don’t think they are by and far the best team in the nation, next year they will be even better.
Easy to say they are the best in the nation when looking at them on paper but they didn’t show it at the meet in College Station. You could call that a “fluke” if you wish but you would be fooling yourself by giving them the National Championship trophy right now!! Stuff happens!
Also don’t believe you don’t care about Stanford after reading your comments above. I leave no doubt with my moniker who I root for. You should do the same.
I think the point about the Bultman adoration is that they aren’t landing many of the superstars but developing them!!!
Yep. Agree completely.
Not to take anything away from the fine programs in other universities besides Stanford, & their consistent efforts, but do we REALLY believe this will be the way things actually end up in March?
No. The CSCAA rankings are a ‘dual meet’ ranking. They suspect that if the teams swam a dual meet today, this is how it would come out.
Like every other time this poll comes out, no one claims it represents the final NCAA meet results. It’s just one measuring stick among many during the season. It inspires some discussion and attention during the year, which is always good for the sport.
First, teach yourself how to read, then read the headline and the first sentence and see if they give you any context clues about whether these are NCAA predictions or some other type of ranking.
Judge much? Try and be nice.