BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The 2015 men’s varsity water polo season comes to a conclusion as National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California-Los Angelescompleted a perfect season and tops the Men’s Varsity Week 14/December 9/Final Top 20 Poll.
The undisputed top team in the land, the Bruins of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Champion UCLA defeated the University of California-San Diego (17-4 W) in the NCAA Championship semifinals at home prior to upending perennial nemesis the University of Southern California (10-7 W) for the 2015 National Championship.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), MPSF, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls was compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the NCAA Championship.
Similar to the Week 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 Polls, the Bruins conclude the year as a consensus top pick with 100 points after tallying 99 points in the Week 2 balloting.
The results of the NCAA Championship have an impact on the remainder of the Top 10 as USC (92 points) moves in front of the University of California (91 points), a team the Trojans defeated 9-6 in the championship semifinals after dispatching SCIAC Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Collegesat home in the play-in round with a 20-5 victory.
Positions No. 4-to-8 remain consistent from the Week 12 and 13 voting as the University of the Pacific (88 points), Stanford University (80 points), the University of California-Irvine (75 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (70 points) and Long Beach State University (65 points) hold onto their positions until the 2016 Preseason Voting.
The No. 9 and 10 positions change hands, however, as WWPA titlist the University of California-San Diego (57 points) finishes the season at No. 9 courtesy a 12-7 defeat of former No. 9/CWPA Champion Princeton University (54 points) in the other NCAA Championship play-in game at USC.
The University of California-Davis (51 points) remains at No. 11, with CWPA Championship runner-up Johns Hopkins University (40 points) rising two spots to take over at No. 12. Harvard University (39 points) and Pepperdine University (39 points), which stood at No. 12 and 13 the past two weeks, wrap-up 2015 in a tie for 13th place.
Brown University (36 points) retains possession of the No. 15 slot as it marks the first time in the history of the sport that four East Coast teams rate among the Top 15 schools in the nation.
The United States Air Force Academy (22 points) and California Baptist University (22 points) move into a tie at No. 16, with St. Francis College Brooklyn (9 points), Santa Clara University (8 points) and Bucknell University (6 points) completing the Top 20 at No. 18-to-20.
Loyola Marymount University (5 points) also received votes.
2015 Varsity Top 20 (Week 14/December 9/Final) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 13 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 3 | 92 |
| 3 | University of California | 2 | 91 |
| 4 | University of the Pacific | 4 | 88 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 70 |
| 8 | Long Beach State University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 57 |
| 10 | Princeton University | 9 | 54 |
| 11 | University of California-Davis | 11 | 51 |
| 12 | Johns Hopkins University | 14 | 40 |
| 13 (T) | Harvard University | 12 | 39 |
| 13 (T) | Pepperdine University | 13 | 39 |
| 15 | Brown University | 15 | 36 |
| 16 (T) | United States Air Force Academy | 16 | 22 |
| 16 (T) | California Baptist University | 17 | 22 |
| 18 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 18 | 9 |
| 19 | Santa Clara University | 19 (T) | 8 |
| 20 | Bucknell University | 19 (T) | 6 |
| RV | Loyola Marymount University | RV | 5 |
Swimming news courtesy of CWPA.