Press Release courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association
The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Week 12/November 22 Polls for the 2017 season.
In the aftermath of the league championship tournaments, the water polo world is turned upside down with four teams taking over the No. 1 spots in three polls this week with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship looming in the next week and a half.
In the wake of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) tournament, the No. 1 position in the National Top 20 is assumed by a pair of teams with the University of Southern Californiaand the University of California-Los Angeles taking over the berth from Stanford University.
In the final Division III Top 10 Poll of the season, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges wraps up the year at No. 1.
In the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five, regular season runner-up George Washington University shatters a season-long run by Bucknell University at No. 1 in the wake of taking the league championship tournament at the United States Naval Academy over the weekend.
Harvard University, which won the 2017 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship over the weekend at home in Blodgett Poo;, follows a similar path as the Crimson took down previously No. 1 Princeton University for the league crown and top spot in the final NWPC poll of the season.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NEWPC, Golden Coast Conference, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), 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.
2017 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22)
Following the regular season and the league championship tournaments it will take the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship to determine which team is No. 1 on paper and in the water as both the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles assume the top spot in the Week 12/November 22 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 Poll.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Champion Trojans (96 points) and runner-up Bruins (96 points), who ranked at No. 4 and 3, respectively, last week, dislodge previously top-ranked Stanford University (88 points) who finished in Fourth-Place at the MPSF Championship behind formerly No. 3 the University of California (91 points).
Change has been a constant at No. 1 in the National Top 20 Poll over the course of the season as the top spot has changed hands four times in the past four weeks as Stanford (Week 11), California (Preseason, Week, 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 10), USC (Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9) and UCLA (Week 4) have each previously ranked at No. 1 prior to the Trojans and Bruins both climbing up the ranks this week.
Behind USC and UCLA, California and Stanford at No. 1-to-4, the University of the Pacific (80 points) is the only team in the Top 10 to retain its position from last week’s rankings. TheUniversity of California-Irvine (74 points) and Long Beach State University (70 points) trade the No. 6 and 7 spots, while the University of California-Davis (64 points) assumes sole possession of the No. 8 position after tying with the University of California-Santa Barbara last week,
Pepperdine University (61 points) rises to No. 9 with UC-Santa Barbara (55 points) backsliding to No. 10.
San Jose State University (49 points) continues at No. 11, while the University of California-San Diego (43points) and Harvard University (43 points) are now tied at No. 12. Princeton University (35 points) and Brown University (28 points) both backup one slot to No. 14 and 15, respectively, with California Baptist University (17 points) rising in the ranks to take over at No. 16.
The lone newcomer to the Top 20 compared to last week’s poll comes at No. 17 as George Washington University (16 points) jumps from receiving votes to tying with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (16 points).
St. Francis College Brooklyn (11 points) and Bucknell University (7 points) complete the Top 20 with the final positions.
2017 MEN’S VARSITY TOP 20 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | University of Southern California | 4 | 96 |
| 1 (T) | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 96 |
| 3 | University of California | 2 | 91 |
| 4 | Stanford University | 1 | 88 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 7 | 74 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 70 |
| 8 | University of California-Davis | 8 (T) | 64 |
| 9 | Pepperdine University | 10 | 61 |
| 10 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 8 (T) | 55 |
| 11 | San Jose State University | 11 | 49 |
| 12 (T) | Harvard University | 15 | 43 |
| 12 (T) | University of California-San Diego | 12 | 43 |
| 14 | Princeton University | 13 | 35 |
| 15 | Brown University | 14 | 28 |
| 16 | California Baptist University | 17 | 17 |
| 17 (T) | George Washington University | RV | 16 |
| 17 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 | 16 |
| 19 | Saint Francis College Brooklyn | 18 | 11 |
| 20 | Bucknell University | 16 | 7 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 5 |
| RV | Wagner College | NR | 5 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 3 |
| RV | Concordia University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Fordham University | 20 | 1 |
2017 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges conclude the season at No. 1 in the Week 12/November 22/Final Men’s Varsity Division III poll.
Pomona-Pitzer (99 points) leads a Top 10 which experiences significant changes in the middle portion of the rankings.
Johns Hopkins University (90 points) holds at No. 2, while Whittier College (88 points) takes sole possession of the No. 3 position. Chapman University (82 points) rises to No. 4 with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (81 points) falling back to No. 5.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (80 points), the University of Redlands (72 points), California Lutheran University (68 points), the University of La Verne (59 points) and theCalifornia Institute of Technology (45 points) hang on at No. 6-to-10 to complete the Top 10.
2017 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2 | 90 |
| 3 | Whittier College | 3 (T) | 88 |
| 4 | Chapman University | 5 | 82 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3 (T) | 81 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 6 | 80 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 7 | 72 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 8 | 68 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 9 | 59 |
| 10 | California Institute of Technology | 10 | 45 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 11 |
2017 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL)
2017 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion George Washington University concludes the year at No. 1 in the Week 12/November 22/Final MAWPC Top Five Poll.
GW (99 points), which downed Wagner College by an 8-5 final score for the league championship, shatters a season-long top ranking for the Bison of Bucknell University dating back to the Preseason Poll. Overall, Bucknell was a unanimous top selection in the Preseason, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 and Week 11 polls leading up to the MAWPC Championship.
Bucknell (93 points) and Wagner (93 points) wrap-up the year tied at No. 2 with Fordham University (86 points) and the United States Naval Academy (80 points) remaining at No. 4 and 5.
2017 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 | George Washington University | 2 | 99 |
| 2 (T) | Bucknell University | 1 | 93 |
| 2 (T) | Wagner College | 4 | 93 |
| 4 | Fordham University | 3 | 86 |
| 5 | United States Naval Academy | 5 | 80 |
2017 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL)
Harvard University takes over at No. 1 in the Week 12/November 22/Final Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five Poll after capturing the league title at home over the weekend with a 12-11 sudden death defeat of former No. 1 Princeton University.
The Crimson’s rise continues a trend of change in the poll as Princeton (Week 6, Week 8, Week 10, Week 11), Harvard (Week 9) and St. Francis College Brooklyn (Week 7) traded the top berth back-and-forth over the past seven weeks.
Overall, the teams consistently exchanged the No. 1 slot all season as Harvard (98 points) ranked at No. 1 in the Preseason, Week 1 (with Princeton), Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 polls prior to Princeton running off back-to-back top nods in the Week 5 and 6 polls to initiate the back-and-forth string among the Tigers, Crimson and Terriers.
Princeton (97 points) slides to No. 2 this week, while Brown University (89 points) rises to No. 3 after downing St. Francis Brooklyn (96 points) by an 11-9 score in the NWPC Championship Third-Place game. Iona College (48 points) finishes the year at No. 5 after topping the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by a 10-9 score in overtime in the Fifth-Place game of the NWPC Championship.
2017 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 12/NOVEMBER 22/FINAL) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 11 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Harvard University | 3 | 98 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 1 | 97 |
| 3 | Brown University | 4 | 89 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 2 | 86 |
| 5 | Iona College | NR | 48 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 32 |