Press Release courtesy of the 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 3/September 20 Polls for the 2017 season.
The University of California continues to lead the National Top 20 Poll as the defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Golden Bears still hold a narrow one-point lead over the Trojans of the University of Southern California, while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges expands its lead in the Division III Top 10 Poll to 10 points over new runner-up Chapman University.
Defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University hangs onto the top spot in the MAWPC Top Five rankings as a unanimous top selection, while 2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University edges out Princeton University for the No. 1 position in the NWPC Top Five.
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 3/September 20)
The University of California continues to lead the National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll as the Golden Bears once again collect 98 points in the Week 3/September 20 voting to hold off the University of Southern California (97 points) by a single point for the third time in as many weeks.
Cal, which claimed the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, leads a Top Five which experiences no changes as USC, Stanford University (90 points), the University of California-Los Angeles (86 points) and the University of the Pacific (80 points) retain their positions at No. 2-to-5, respectively.
Long Beach State University (74 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (71 points) follow suit by hanging on at No. 6 and 7, respectively, while the duo of the University of California-Davis (66 points) and Pepperdine University (65 points) experience the first change in the Top 20 by trading the No. 8 and 9 slots.
Positions No. 10-to-16 also remain steady as the University of California-Irvine (53 points), Harvard University (49 points), Princeton University (46 points), the University of California-San Diego (40 points), Brown University (37 points),California Baptist University (27 points) and St. Francis College Brooklyn (23 points) remain locked in for another seven-day stretch.
Change occurs at No. 17 and 18, however, as Bucknell University (16 points) and George Washington University (15 points) exchange the berths.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (13 points) and Loyola Marymount University (10 points) once again round out the Top 20 through three weeks of intercollegiate competition.
| 2017 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 3/September 20) | |||
| Rank | Team | Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California-Los Angeles | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 74 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 71 |
| 8 | University of California-Davis | 9 | 66 |
| 9 | Pepperdine University | 8 | 61 |
| 10 | University of California-Irvine | 10 | 53 |
| 11 | Harvard University | 11 | 49 |
| 12 | Princeton University | 12 | 46 |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 13 | 40 |
| 14 | Brown University | 14 | 37 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 15 | 27 |
| 16 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 16 | 23 |
| 17 | Bucknell University | 18 | 16 |
| 18 | George Washington University | 17 | 15 |
| 19 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 | 13 |
| 20 | Loyola Marymount University | 20 | 10 |
| RV | Concordia University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Fresno Pacific University | NR | 1 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 1 |
| RV | San Jose State University | RV | 1 |
| RV | University of Redlands | NR | 1 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 3/September 20)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges continues to rate as the best Division III men’s water polo program in the Week 3/September 20 Division III Top 10.
Pomona-Pitzer, which posted 97 and 98 points over the past weeks to creep closer to becoming an unanimous top selection, achieves the milestone as the Sagehens garner 100 points.
Overall, Pomona-Pitzer is one of only three teams in the Top 10 to retain its position from the Week 2/September 13 voting as head-to-head matchups among many of the squads shook up on the rankings.
Chapman University (90 points) inches up to take over at No. 2, while previously No. 9-ranked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (87 points) rockets up the poll to No. 3 on the strength of victories over previously No. 2 Whittier College and former No. 5 the University of Redlands.
Johns Hopkins University (84 points), which held sole custody of the No. 4 position last week, gains company as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (84 points) pulls even with the Blue Jays in the first of two ties in this week’s balloting.
Whittier (75 points) and Redlands (75 points) drop into a tie at No. 6 to subsequently drive California Lutheran University (64 points) and Occidental College (57 points) back to No. 8 and 9, respectively.
The University of La Verne (48 points) joins Pomona-Pitzer and Hopkins in hanging onto its previous ranking by once again rounding out the Top 10.
| 2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 3/September 20) | |||
| Rank | Team | Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Chapman University | 3 | 90 |
| 3 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 9 | 87 |
| 4 (T) | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 84 |
| 4 (T) | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 6 | 84 |
| 6 (T) | Whittier College | 2 | 75 |
| 6 (T) | University of Redlands | 5 | 65 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 7 | 64 |
| 9 | Occidental College | 8 | 47 |
| 10 | University of La Verne | 10 | 48 |
| RV | California Institute of Technology | RV | 11 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3/September 20)
Bucknell University retains its Preseason, Week 1 and Week 2 selection as the No. 1 team in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) as the Bison continue to lead the Week 3/September 20 Top Five Poll.
The 2016 MAWPC Champion Bison (100 points) retains their status as a unanimous top selection after holding 98 points in the Week 1 voting. Bucknell previously held status as a unanimous No. 1 pick in the Preseason and Week 2 Polls.
2016 MAWPC Championship runner-up George Washington University (94 points) breaks out of a tie with Fordham University (87 points) to take over exclusive control of the No. 2 spot. Fordham moves from one tie to another as the Rams are now deadlocked with Wagner College (87 points) at No. 3.
Johns Hopkins University (50 points) hangs tight at No. 5 for another week, while the United States Naval Academy (32 points) also received votes to inch closer to cracking the Top Five.
| 2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3/September 20) | |||
| Rank | Team | Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | George Washington University | 2 (T) | 94 |
| 3 (T) | Fordham University | 2 (T) | 87 |
| 3 (T) | Wagner College | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 5 | 50 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | RV | 32 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3/September 20)
Inaugural/2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University continues its status as the best team in the NWPC as the Crimson edge out Princeton University by a single point for the second time in 14 days to top the Week 3/September 20 NWPC Top Five Poll.
Harvard (98 points), which was tied with Princeton (97 points) in the Week 1 voting, eked past the Tigers 97-to-96 last week.
Brown University (89 points) and St. Francis College Brooklyn (86 points) retain the No. 3 and 4 spots with theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (48 points) dislodging Iona College (32 points) to take over at No. 5
| 2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3/September 20) | |||
| Rank | Team | Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Harvard University | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 48 |
| RV | Iona College | 5 | 32 |