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 11/November 15 Polls for the 2017 season.
Stanford University takes over at No. 1 in the National Top 20 Poll in the aftermath of a week in which the Cardinal took down reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion and Week 10/November 8 No. 1-ranked the University of California by an 11-10 final score.
Minor adjustments occur in the Division III Top 10 Poll with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges sticking at No. 1 and the majority of the teams remaining positioned in their same berths from the past few weeks.
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 defending the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five sees Princeton University clings to the No. 1 spot with St. Francis College Brooklyn and Harvard University close behind.
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 11/NOVEMBER 15)
The ancient saying of Heraclitus of Ephesus, “The only thing constant is change,” remains true as previously No. 3-ranked Stanford University rises to the No. 1 in the Week 11/November 15 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 Poll on the strength of an 11-10 defeat of former No. 1 and defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California.
Stanford (97 points) ends a one-week tenure by the Golden Bears and becomes the third team in three weeks to lead the National Rankings after California (95 points) terminated a five-week run by the University of Southern California last week.
The fourth and final of the “Big Four” teams to lead the nation in a topsy-turvy season, Stanford follows California (Preseason, Week, 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 10), USC (Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9) and the University of California-Los Angeles (Week 4) as the men’s varsity ranks continue to evolve going into the conference championship weekend on November 17-19.
Overall, the Cardinal hold a narrow two point lead (97-to-95) over California in a Top 20 which experiences the largest degree of change in the Top 10 all season.
UCLA (91 points) moves up to No. 3 as the Bruins downed (87 points) by a 12-11 score in overtime to see the first four positions in the Top 20 change hands this week. The University of the Pacific (81 points) holds at No. 5 to rate as the only constant in the Top 10, while Long Beach State University (75 points) jumps to No. 6, the University of California-Irvine (71 points) drops to No. 6, the University of California-Davis (61 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (61 points) rise to tie at No. 8 and Pepperdine University (58 points) backs up to No. 10.
San Jose State University (50 points) continues at No. 11, while the University of California-San Diego (42 points) breaks out of a tie at No. 12 from last week with Princeton University (42 points) to acquire sole possession of the berth.
Princeton slips to No. 13 with Brown University (33 points) and Harvard University (32 points) remaining at No. 14 and 15, respectively.
Bucknell University (20 points) and California Baptist University (18 points) bypass St. Francis College Brooklyn (17 points) to rank at No. 16-to-18, while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (10 points) retains the No. 19 slot.
Fordham University (5 points) completes the Top 20 as the Rams dislodge George Washington University to take over the final spot.
2017 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 11/November 15) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Stanford University | 3 | 97 |
| 2 | University of California | 1 | 95 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 4 | 91 |
| 4 | University of Southern California | 2 | 87 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 7 (T) | 75 |
| 7 | University of California-Irvine | 6 | 71 |
| 8 (T) | University of California-Davis | 9 | 61 |
| 8 (T) | University of California-Santa Barbara | 10 | 61 |
| 10 | Pepperdine University | 7 (T) | 58 |
| 11 | San Jose State University | 11 | 50 |
| 12 | University of California-San Diego | 12 (T) | 42 |
| 13 | Princeton University | 12 (T) | 41 |
| 14 | Brown University | 14 | 33 |
| 15 | Harvard University | 15 | 32 |
| 16 | Bucknell University | 17 | 20 |
| 17 | California Baptist University | 18 | 18 |
| 18 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 16 | 17 |
| 19 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 | 10 |
| 20 | Fordham University | RV | 5 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 3 |
| RV | George Washington University | 20 | 3 |
| RV | Concordia University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 2 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 1 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 11/November 15) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2 | 93 |
| 3 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3 | 85 |
| 3 (T) | Whittier College | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Chapman University | 5 | 83 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 7 | 80 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 6 | 72 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 8 | 64 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 9 | 60 |
| 10 | California Institute of Technology | 10 | 45 |
| RV | Connecticut College | NR | 11 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11/November 15) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | George Washington University | 2 | 94 |
| 3 | Fordham University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | United States Naval Academy | 5 | 48 |
| RV | Johns Hopkins University | RV | 32 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11/November 15) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | Harvard University | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | Brown University | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 80 |