The University of California-Los Angeles retains its position as the No. 1 team in the nation as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2016 Week 4/September 28 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 Polls.
The two-time defending National Champion Bruins become a unanimous top choice with 100 points this week. The Division III rankings, however, gain a new No. 1 team as Pomona-Pitzer Colleges ascends three places to dislodge Whittier College and acquire top billing in the Division III Top 10 Poll.
Exclusively on the “East Coast”, the Crimson of Harvard University shatters a tie with 2015 CWPA Champion Princeton University to take over the No. 1 berth in the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five, while Bucknell University continues a stranglehold on the top spot of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) 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), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (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.
2016 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 4/SEPTEMBER 28)
The 2014 and 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of the University of California-Los Angeles continue to roll through their competition and earn status as the best team in the nation as the squad once again leads the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll through games of September 26.
UCLA continues its assault on the water polo world in returning to a unanimous No. 1 selection with 100 points after back-to-back weeks earning 99 points. Previously a consensus No. 1 selection in the Week 1 voting, the Bruins lead a Top 10 which was shaken and stirred in the wake of the Mountain Pacific Invitational hosted by the University of California over the weekend.
The results of the tournament flip the No. 2 and 3 teams as the Golden Bears of California (95 points) and the Trojans of the University of Southern California (90 points) rise and drop. University of the Pacific (85 points) and Stanford University (80 points) hang on at No. 4 and 5, respectively, while Long Beach State University (74 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (67 points) follow the pattern of Cal and USC in exchanging the No. 6 and 7 slots in the poll.
Harvard University (66 points), which was tied with the University of California-Irvine at No. 8 last week, is believed to make history. The Crimson are now the sole inhabitants of the No. 8 position in the Top 20 making Harvard the highest ranked East Coast team in the National Poll since at least 2006 and the only squad East of the Rockies to possess single custody of a spot inside the Top 20’s first eight programs since polling began.
Behind Harvard, Pepperdine University (58 points) improves its ranking by inching up one place to take over at No. 9. A total of 11 teams appear in the Top 10 this week as the University of California-Davis (49 points) and Bucknell University (49 points) jump from No. 11 and 13 last week to tie at No. 10 after four weeks of intercollegiate action.
The University of California-San Diego (42 points), UC-Irvine (35 points) and Princeton University (34 points) rise, drop and fall back to No. 12-to-14, respectively, while Brown University (31 points) and California Baptist University (27 points) stand at No. 15 and 16. George Washington University (24 points) inches back to No. 17 after tying with Cal Baptist at No. 16 last week.
The United States Air Force Academy (18 points) returns to the Top 20 by taking over at No. 18. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (9 points), which was unranked last week, follows the Falcons into National Poll at No. 19 with Santa Clara University (7 points) rounding out the Top 20.
2016 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/September 28) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California | 3 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 2 | 90 |
| 4 | University of the Pacific | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 7 | 74 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 6 | 67 |
| 8 | Harvard University | 8 (T) | 66 |
| 9 | Pepperdine University | 10 | 58 |
| 10 (T) | University of California-Davis | 11 (T) | 49 |
| 10 (T) | Bucknell University | 13 | 49 |
| 12 | University of California-San Diego | 14 | 42 |
| 13 | University of California-Irvine | 8 (T) | 35 |
| 14 | Princeton University | 11 (T) | 34 |
| 15 | Brown University | 15 | 31 |
| 16 | California Baptist University | 16 (T) | 27 |
| 17 | George Washington University | 16 (T) | 24 |
| 18 | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 18 |
| 19 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | NR | 9 |
| 20 | Santa Clara University | 19 | 7 |
| RV | San Jose State University | 18 | 5 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 4 |
| RV | Saint Francis College Brooklyn | RV | 3 |
| RV | Fresno Pacific University | 20 | 1 |
| RV | Loyola Marymount University | RV | 1 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 4/SEPTEMBER 28)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges take over at No. 1 in the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll through games of September 26.
Pomona-Pitzer’s rise from No. 4 last week to the pole position comes thanks to a 2-2 performance at the Mountain Pacific Invitational hosted by the University of California as the Sagehens placed 10th after dispatching the University of California-Irvine (8-7 W OT) and the United States Air Force Academy (9-8 W OT) with losses to the University of California-Los Angeles (18-7 L) and the University of California-Davis (16-11 L).
Whittier College (96 points), which ranked at No. 1 in the Preseason, Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 Polls, slips to No. 2. Pomona-Pitzer’s movement also impacts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (89 points) and the University of Redlands (85 points) as the duo dive down to No. 3 and 4 after ranking at No. 2 and 3 last week.
California Lutheran University (80 points), Chapman University (68 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (58 points) continue to cling to the No. 5-to-7 slots. Johns Hopkins University (57 points) and the University of La Verne (51 points) take over at No. 8 and 9 with Occidental College (45 points) completing the Top 10.
Connecticut College (36 points) and Washington & Jefferson College (11 points) also received votes.
2016 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 4/September 28) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 4 | 99 |
| 2 | Whittier College | 1 | 96 |
| 3 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 89 |
| 4 | University of Redlands | 3 | 85 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 | 68 |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 7 | 58 |
| 8 | Johns Hopkins University | 9 | 57 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 8 | 51 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 10 | 45 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 36 |
| RV | Washington & Jefferson College | RV | 11 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY MID-ATLANTIC WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 4/SEPTEMBER 28)
Bucknell University, which rose to the No. 1 position in the Week 1/September 7 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Poll with 98 points and became a unanimous top selection two weeks ago, continue to stampede through the division as the Bison once gain garner 100 points.
Bucknell continues to lead a first-year conference grouping that includes George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, the United States Naval Academy, Gannon University, MercyhurstUniversity, Monmouth College, Salem International University, Washington & Jefferson College, Connecticut College, Fordham University, Wagner College and La Salle University.
Change does come to the remainder of the Top Five, however, in the aftermath of the first MAWPC-East Region and West-Region weekends.
George Washington University (95 points) continues to rate at No. 2 behind Bucknell, but the remainder of the Top Five shifts for the second week in a row.
Fordham University (90 points), which received votes last week, jumps into the Top Five at No. 3 after downing hosts Johns Hopkins University and the United States Naval Academy in Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.
Johns Hopkins (85 points) and Navy (48 points), which were tied at No. 3 in the Week 3/September 21 voting, backdown to No. 4 and 5, respectively, to complete the Top Five.
Wagner College, which is fielding a men’s varsity team for the first time in 2016, and Gannon University both received 16 points to miss out on earning a position in the Top Five.
2016 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 28) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | George Washington University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Fordham University | RV | 90 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 (T) | 85 |
| 5 | United States Naval Academy | 3 (T) | 48 |
| RV | Wagner College | 5 | 16 |
| RV | Gannon University | NR | 16 |
2016 MEN’S VARSITY NORTHEAST WATER POLO CONFERENCE TOP 5 (WEEK 4/SEPTEMBER 28)
The first-year Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) continues to be Ivy-dominated through the first four weeks of the 2016 Men’s Varsity season as Harvard University earns 100 points to take sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the league’s Top Five through games of September 26.
Comprised of Brown University, Iona College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Saint Francis College Brooklyn, Harvard and Princeton University, the NWPC is in its first-year of existence following a division of the CWPA into two men’s varsity conferences (Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference) starting in 2016.
Harvard, which was tied with Princeton at No. 1 last week, assumes top billing in the group without putting a ball into the back of the cage as the Crimson were off last week. Princeton (93 points) finished 1-3 last week in non-conference play at the Mountain Pacific Invitational hosted by the University of Californiawith a win against Whittier College (15-9 W) and losses to the University of California-Santa Barbara(12-11 L OT SD), the University of California-Davis (13-9 L) and the United States Air Force Academy (11-10 L). Due to the mark, the Tigers slip back into the No. 2 spot after leading Brown 95-94 for the No. 1 spot in the Preseason rankings and edging out Harvard by a point in both the Week 1 (97-96) and Week 2 (98-97) polls.
Brown (92 points) and St. Francis Brooklyn (83 points) continue at No. 3 and 4, while MIT (49 points) takes over the final position in the Top Five from Iona (33 points).
2016 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/September 28) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Harvard University | 1 (T) | 100 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 1 (T) | 93 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 92 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 83 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 49 |
| RV | Iona College | 5 | 33 |
Courtesy of the Collegiate Water Polo Association.