The University of California-Los Angeles‘ reign as the top men’s collegiate water polo team in the nation continues for another week as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2016 Week 6/October 12 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.
The two-time defending National Champion Bruins remain a unanimous No. 1 choice in the National Top 20 with 100 points, while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges retains the No. 1 spot in the Division III Top 10 rankings with 99 points.
Change comes to the top positions of both the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference and Northeast Water Polo Conference Polls. Princeton University, which was tied with Harvard University for the top spot last week, assumes sole command of the No. 1 position in the NWPC Top Five Poll, while George Washington University assumes top billing in the MWPC Top Five on the strength of a victory against former No. 1 Bucknell University over the weekend.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, 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 season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2016 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 6/OCTOBER 12)
The 2014 and 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of theUniversity of California-Los Angeles continue to roll through their competition as the team once again leads the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll through games of October 9.
The Top Eight positions in the balloting remain consistent as UCLA (100 points), the University of California (95 points), the University of Southern California (90 points), University of the Pacific (85 points), Stanford University (80 points), Long Beach State University (75 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (63 points) and Pepperdine University(58 points) respectively retain their slots from the Week 5/October 5 voting.
From there, the poll changes dramatically from last week’s version as Princeton University (54 points) moves up four places from No. 13 to crack the Top 10 and take over at No. 9. TheUniversity of California-Davis (53 points) follows the Tigers to assume control at No. 10 and round out the upper-half of the National Top 20.
Brown University (52 points), Harvard University (48 points), Bucknell University (42 points) and George Washington University(33 points) rise and fall to rate at No. 11-to-14, respectively, with California Baptist University (31 points) joining the Top Eight as the only teams to retain their Week 5 ranking.
The University of California-San Diego (28 points), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (24 points), the University of California-Irvine (12 points), St. Francis College Brooklyn (10 points) and the United States Air Force Academy (8 points) complete the latest National Top 20.
2016 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 6/October 12) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of the Pacific | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 63 |
| 8 | Pepperdine University | 8 | 58 |
| 9 | Princeton University | 13 | 54 |
| 10 | University of California-Davis | 11 | 53 |
| 11 | Brown University | 14 | 52 |
| 12 | Harvard University | 9 (T) | 48 |
| 13 | Bucknell University | 9 (T) | 42 |
| 14 | George Washington University | 16 | 33 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 15 | 31 |
| 16 | University of California-San Diego | 12 | 28 |
| 17 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 (T) | 24 |
| 18 | University of California-Irvine | 17 | 12 |
| 19 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 18 | 10 |
| 20 | United States Air Force Academy | 19 (T) | 8 |
| RV | San Jose State University | RV | 3 |
| RV | University of Redlands | RV | 3 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 3 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Loyola Marymount University | NR | 1 |
| RV | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | NR | 1 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 6/OCTOBER 12)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges remain the kings of their roost as the team remains at No. 1 in the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll through games of October 9.
Unlike the National Top 20 which saw 12 of the poll’s positions change hands, the Division III Top 10 remains relatively unchanged as Pomona-Pitzer (99 points) holds a four-point lead over the University of Redlands (95 points). The point spread is a decrease from last week when the Sagehens topped the Bulldogs 97-to-92.
One tie is broken and another is created in the Week 6 balloting as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (88 points) and Whittier College (88 points), which stood at No. 3 and 4 last week, now share the No. 3 slot in the Top 10.
California Lutheran University (74 points) hangs on at No. 5 with the duo of Chapman University (71 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (70 points) breaking out of a tie at No. 6 to rate at No. 6 and 7, respectively, through six weeks of intercollegiate competition.
The University of La Verne (64 points), Johns Hopkins University (59 points) and Occidental College (44 points) complete the Top 10.
Connecticut College (23 points) also received votes.
2016 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 6/October 12) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | 2 | 95 |
| 3 (T) | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 3 | 88 |
| 3 (T) | Whittier College | 4 | 88 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University | 5 | 74 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 (T) | 71 |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 6 (T) | 70 |
| 8 | University of La Verne | 8 | 64 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | 9 | 59 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 10 | 44 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 23 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 6/OCTOBER 12)
For the first-time in the recorded history of either the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) or the brief tenure of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, George Washington University leads a league poll as the Colonials pick up 98 points to take over the top position in the Week 6/October 12 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
GW assumes the No. 1 position in a first-year conference grouping that includes Bucknell University,Johns Hopkins University, the United States Naval Academy, Gannon University, MercyhurstUniversity, Monmouth College, Salem International University, Washington & Jefferson College,Connecticut College, Fordham University, Wagner College and La Salle University.
George Washington’s ascension to the top of the MAWPC standings causes ripples through the remainder of the Top Five as former No. 1Bucknell University (97 points) drops back to No. 2 with Johns Hopkins University (86 points) moving up on spot to No. 3.
Wagner College (85 points) also inches up to take over at No. 4 with Fordham University (84 points) sliding back to No. 5.
2016 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6/October 12) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | George Washington University | 2 | 98 |
| 2 | Bucknell University | 1 | 97 |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 86 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 5 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 3 | 84 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 6/OCTOBER 12)
The first-year Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) continues to be Ivy-dominated through the first six weeks of the 2016 Men’s Varsity season as 2015 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion Princeton University acquires sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the Week 6/October 12 NWPC Top Five.
Comprised of Brown University, Iona College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), St. Francis College Brooklyn, Harvard University and Princeton, the NWPC is in its first-year of existence following a division of the CWPA into two men’s varsity conferences (Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference) starting in 2016.
Princeton’s rise to the top continues on ongoing battle between the Tigers and their Ivy institution brethren for premier status in the NWPC.
Last week, Harvard and Princeton were tied for the top spot for the second time in three weeks as the Crimson and Tigers were also equals in the Week 3 voting. Harvard, which held sole status as the No. 1 team in the league for the Week 4 poll, drops to a season low third this week as Brown (96 points) downed the host Crimson (91 points) over the weekend to take over at No. 2.
Saint Francis Brooklyn (85 points) and Iona (80 points) once again achieve the final positions in the Top Five.
2016 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6/October 12) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 (T) | 98 |
| 2 | Brown University | 3 | 96 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 1 (T) | 91 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona College | 5 | 80 |
Courtesy of The Collegiate Water Polo Association
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