After knocking off last week’s #1 team Stanford, USC has ascended to the top of the collegiate women’s water polo Top 25 poll. The then-#4 Trojans bested the Cardinal 10-5 in the championship match of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, California, on Sunday to lead five Week 6 upsets.
USC also scored a 9-7 victory over then #2 UCLA. Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber paced the Trojans against Stanford with two goals each, while Tehaney and Kelsey McIntosh scored hat tricks against the Bruins.
With the losses, Stanford and UCLA each fell one spot to #2 and #3 respectively.
Hawaii also moved down a spot from 3 to 4 after going 2-2 at the Kalbus Invitational. The Rainbow Wahine defeated #15 UC Davis (9-6) and #5 Arizona State (15-5), before falling to #1 Stanford 12-9 and #2 UCLA 10-5.
UC Irvine rounds out the Top 5, climbing one position from #6. The Anteaters finished a 3-1 weekend at their home tournament by upsetting then #5 Arizona State 12-7. UCI also posted wins over #12 Long Beach State (12-9) and #10 Michigan (9-8), while falling to USC 10-7. Eight players scored, including four with two goal efforts, in the Anteaters’ upset win over ASU.
San Diego State was the biggest mover of the week, jumping six spots from #22 to #16. After starting the weekend with losses to #1 Stanford (12-8) and #8 UC San Diego (9-8), the Aztecs rebounded with upset wins over #15 UC Davis (13-10) and #12 Long Beach State (10-9). Isabelle Hastings logged four goals to lead SDSU against UC Davis and provided a hat trick to pace the team vs. Long Beach State.
Loyola Marymount climbed four spots from #16 to #12 after going 2-2 at the Kalbus Invitational. The Lions topped #12 Long Beach State 11-8 and #13 San Jose State 13-10 OT, and dropped a pair of matches to Top 10 foes in #4 USC (20-8) and #7 Cal (12-6). Kelsey Snelgar scored six goals to lift LMU to the overtime win over San Jose State and tacked on four in the win over LBSU.
Michigan moved up three positions from #10 to #7 after registering two upsets at the Kalbus Invitational. The Wolverines posted wins over #7 Cal (11-10 OT) and #9 UC Santa Barbara (5-4) and fell to #2 UCLA (7-2) and #6 UC Irvine (9-8). Maddie O’Reilly chipped in three goals against Cal, while Erin Neustrom netted a hat trick in the win over UCSB.
Cal Lutheran and Santa Clara joined the list of vote getters outside of the Top 25 after their Week 6 efforts.
The Regals opened their 2020 season with a 1-2 showing at the Fresno State Invitational, falling to #11 Fresno State (20-4) and RV Azusa Pacific (17-10), before ended the weekend with a 15-11 win over Fresno Pacific.
Santa Clara won its lone contest on Week 6, topping Cal State Monterey Bay 10-3.
Long Beach State fell three spots from #12 to #15, while UC Davis dropped three positions from #15 to #18.
Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Top 25 Poll
Feb. 26, 2020
| Rank | Team | Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 4 | 100 |
| 2 | Stanford University | 1 | 95 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 2 | 93 |
| 4 | University of Hawaii | 3 | 88 |
| 5 | University of California-Irvine | 6 | 84 |
| 6 | Arizona State University | 5 | 79 |
| 7 | University of Michigan | 10 | 77 |
| 8 (T) | University of California | 7 | 70 |
| 8 (T) | University of California-Santa Barbara | 9 | 70 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 8 | 64 |
| 11 | Fresno State University | 11 | 58 |
| 12 | Loyola Marymount University | 16 | 50 |
| 13 | San Jose State University | 13 | 48 |
| 14 | Indiana University | 14 | 45 |
| 15 | Long Beach State University | 12 | 44 |
| 16 | San Diego State University | 22 | 42 |
| 17 | Harvard University | 17 | 36 |
| 18 | University of California-Davis | 15 | 34 |
| 19 | Wagner College | 18 | 27 |
| 20 (T) | Princeton University | 19 | 24 |
| 20 (T) | California State University-Northridge | 20 | 24 |
| 22 | Bucknell University | 23 | 16 |
| 23 | University of the Pacific | 21 | 14 |
| 24 | Marist College | 24 | 6 |
| 25 | California Baptist University | 25 | 5 |
| RV | Brown University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Azusa Pacific University | RV | 2 |
| RV | California Lutheran University | NR | 2 |
| RV | California State University, East Bay | RV | 1 |
| RV | Sonoma State University | RV | 1 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | NR | 1 |