Press Release courtesy of CWPA.
The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2017 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 2/September 13 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 eight points over new runner-up Whittier College.
Defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University hangs onto the top spot in the MAWPC Top Five rankings to become a unanimous top selection, while 2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University breaks away from Princeton University to reacquire sole possession 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 Wednesdayduring each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2017 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 2/September 13)
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 2/September 13 voting to hold off the University of Southern California (97 points) by a single point for the second 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 (89 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 (73 points), which was tied with the University of California-Santa Barbara (71 points) at No. 6 last week, acquires sole custody of the position this week as UC-Santa Barbara falls off the pace to come in at No. 7. Pepperdine University (65 points) and the University of California-Davis (57 points) remain at No. 8 and 9, while the University of California-Irvine (54 points) breaks into the upper-half of the Top 20 to make it an All-California Top 10.
Harvard University (51 points points) slips to No. 11 to drive Princeton University (48 points), which was tied with UC-Irvine at No. 11 last week, back to No. 12.
The University of California-San Diego (37 points), Brown University (35 points) and California Baptist University (29 points) remain at No. 13-to-15, respectively, with St. Francis College Brooklyn (18 points) jumping up to No. 16.
George Washington University (16 points), Bucknell University (15 points), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (14 points) and Loyola Marymount University (12 points) readjust to rate at No. 17-to-20 and complete the Top 20 through two weeks of intercollegiate competition.
2017 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 2/September 13) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | University of California-Los Angeles | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 6 (T) | 73 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 6 (T) | 71 |
| 8 | Pepperdine University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | University of California-Davis | 9 | 57 |
| 10 | University of California-Irvine | 11 (T) | 54 |
| 11 | Harvard University | 10 | 51 |
| 12 | Princeton University | 11 (T) | 48 |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 13 | 37 |
| 14 | Brown University | 14 | 35 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 15 | 29 |
| 16 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 18 | 18 |
| 17 | George Washington University | 17 | 16 |
| 18 | Bucknell University | 16 | 15 |
| 19 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 20 | 14 |
| 20 | Loyola Marymount University | 19 | 7 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 4 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 3 |
| RV | Concordia University | RV | 3 |
| RV | Fordham University | NR | 2 |
| RV | San Jose State University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Whittier College | NR | 2 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 2/September 13)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges continues to rate as the best Division III men’s water polo program in the Week 2/September 13 Division III Top 10.
Pomona-Pitzer, which posted 97 points last week, expands its margin over the rest of the Division III ranks as the Sagehens rack up 98 points to hold a commanding eight-point lead over new runner-up Whittier College (90 points). Whittier moves up to No. 2 after formerly second-ranked Johns Hopkins University suffered a loss to Chapman University over the weekend at the Princeton University Invitational.
Chapman (88 points) uses its victory over Johns Hopkins to improve three places to No. 3, with the Blue Jays (85 points) sliding two spots to No. 4.
The University of Redlands (84 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (79 points) break out of a tie at No. 4 last week to now stand at No. 5 and 6 respectively, with California Lutheran University (68 points) moving up three places to take over at No. 7.
Occidental College (63 points), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (61 points) and the University of La Verne (49 points) complete the Top 10.
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 2/September 13) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | Whittier College | 3 | 90 |
| 3 | Chapman University | 6 | 88 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 2 | 85 |
| 5 | University of Redlands | 4 (T) | 84 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 4 (T) | 79 |
| 7 | California Lutheran University | 10 | 68 |
| 8 | Occidental College | 8 (T) | 63 |
| 9 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 7 | 61 |
| 10 | University of La Verne | 8 (T) | 49 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 11 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 13)
Bucknell University retains its preseason and Week 1 selection as the No. 1 team in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) as the Bison lead the Week 2/September 13 Top Five Poll.
The 2016 MAWPC Champion Bison (100 points) return to rating as a unanimous top selection after holding 98 points last week. Bucknell previously held status as a unanimous No. 1 pick in the Preseason Poll.
2016 MAWPC Championship runner-up George Washington University (92 points) gains company at No. 2 as the Colonials are now tied with Fordham University (92 points).
Wagner College (82 points) inches up one place to take over at No. 4, while Johns Hopkins University (68 points) dips to No. 5.
The United States Naval Academy (16 points) also received votes this week.
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 13) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 (T) | George Washington University | 2 | 92 |
| 2 (T) | Fordham University | 4 | 92 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 5 | 82 |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 | 68 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | RV | 16 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 13)
Inaugural/2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University regains its status as the best team in the NWPC as the Crimson break out of a tie with Princeton University from last week to stand alone on top of the Week 2/September 13 NWPC Top Five Poll.
Harvard (97 points), which was tied with Princeton (96 points) at No. 1 last week, edges out the Tigers by a single-point after the second week of intercollegiate varsity competition.
The remainder of the Top Five remains unchanged as Brown University (90 points), St. Francis College Brooklyn (87 points) and Iona College (48 points) cling to the No. 3-to-5 slots, respectively, to complete the Top Five.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (32 points) also received votes this week.
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 13) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Harvard University | 1 (T) | 97 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 1 (T) | 96 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | Iona College | 5 | 48 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 32 |