Heading into conference tournament week, Stanford and USC continue to share the #1 spot in the collegiate water polo poll for the second straight week.
The Trojans are the #1 seed in this weekend’s MPSF Tournament after posting a 3-0 record in league action, including a 14-13 win over #7 Cal on Saturday.
The Cardinal went 2-1 in MPSF play, earning the #2 seed in league tournament after falling to USC 9-8 on November 2.
UCLA (16-3, 1-2 MPSF), the MPSF’s #3 seed, checks in at #3 in the national poll for the second straight week after falling to Stanford 17-11 on Saturday.
Pacific and Pepperdine, both out of the Golden Coast Conference, round out the Top 5. The Tigers are the top seed in the GCC Tournament after posting a 16-3 overall mark and 5-0 record in league play, including a 13-8 win over #12 San Jose State on Saturday.
Pepperdine, which moves up from #6, won its lone contest on Week 11, topping then-#5 UC Santa Barbara 17-10 with help from hat tricks by Sean Thomas, Balazs Kosa and Chris Dilworth. The Guachos dropped one spot to #6 with the loss.
There were a few shifts in the middle of the poll as Loyola Marymount moved up a spot from 13 to 12, Bucknell is tied with San Jose State at #13, followed by UC Irvine at #15.
LMU (13-11, 5-2) earned the #3 seed in the WWPA Championships. The Lions lost their regular season finale, falling 21-20 to #8 Long Beach State on Nov. 14, despite an eight-goal output by Blazo Mitrovic.
Bucknell is hosting the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Championship in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Bison, which topped #16 Fordham 9-6 on Saturday, are the #1 seed in the league tournament after posting a 10-2 record in MAWPC action. Rade Joksimovic paced the team with four goals in the win over the Rams.
San Jose State (7-18, 1-4 GCC) ended the regular season on a five-game losing streak, including an 11-10 loss to Santa Clara on Wednesday and a 13-8 loss to #4 Pacific on Saturday. The Spartans are the #5 seed in the GCC Championship.
UC Irvine ended its regular season at 7-14 and 0-5 in GCC play with an 11-8 loss to #8 Long Beach State. The Anteaters are the #6 seed in the GCC tournament.
Whittier, Santa Clara and Pomona-Pitzer rounded out the poll, receiving votes outside the Top 20.
Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Nov. 20 Poll
| Rank | Team | Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | Stanford University | 1 (T) | 97 |
| 1 (T) | University of Southern California | 1 (T) | 97 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | University of the Pacific | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Pepperdine University | 6 | 80 |
| 6 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 5 | 75 |
| 7 | University of California | 7 | 67 |
| 8 | Long Beach State University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | Harvard University | 9 | 61 |
| 10 | University of California-Davis | 10 | 57 |
| 11 | University of California-San Diego | 11 | 51 |
| 12 | Loyola Marymount University | 13 | 39 |
| 13 (T) | Bucknell University | 15 | 35 |
| 13 (T) | San Jose State University | 12 | 33 |
| 15 | University of California-Irvine | 14 | 25 |
| 16 | Fordham University | 16 | 25 |
| 17 | California Baptist University | 17 | 20 |
| 18 | George Washington University | 18 | 16 |
| 19 (T) | Brown University | 19 (T) | 9 |
| 19 (T) | Princeton University | 19 (T) | 9 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 4 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | RV | 1 |