USA Water Polo

Men's Varsity Pre-Seasons Polls Announced: California Tops The Rankings

8/18/2010 12:00:00 AM

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of California and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will enter the 2010 season as the coaches' early picks to finish a top the final standings as the Golden Bears and Sagehens topped the Men's Varsity Top 20 and Division III Top 10 preseason polls released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).

In the CWPA Top 10 Poll, the United States Naval Academy and St. Francis College (N.Y.) share No. 1 billing before the first contest of the season as the Midshipmen and Terriers edged out defending Eastern Champion Princeton University by two points to rank No. 1 in the conference rankings.

Voted on by a panel of coaches and administrators from around the country during the preseason and season based on the cumulative results of each team, the Varsity Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 polls are released on Wednesday during the season until the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

Men's Varsity Top 20

In one of the tightest preseason polls in the history of the sport, the University of California garnered 95 points to rate as the preseason favorite in the 2010 Men's Varsity Water Polo Top 20 Poll.  The Golden Bears, who finished third in the final 2009 poll and earned the No. 1 ranking in this year's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coaches' Poll, edged out the University of California-Los Angeles by a single point (95-to-94). 

Four teams received first place votes in the poll with Stanford University (91 points) and defending national champion the University of Southern California (90 points) taking the third and fourth positions in the preseason rankings behind the Golden Bears and Bruins.

Overall, the top 13 teams in the nation are all located in the Golden State of California as the University of California-Irvine, Loyola Marymount University, the University of California-Santa Barbara, Pepperdine University, Long Beach State University and University of the Pacific round out the Top 10, with the University of California-San Diego, Concordia University and Santa Clara University ranking No. 11-13.

At No. 14, Princeton University, the United States Naval Academy and St. Francis College (N.Y.) are tied for the spot with 31 points to account for the No. 14-16 berths in the Top 20.

The University of California-Davis, Bucknell University, the United States Air Force Academy and California Baptist University round out the Top 20, with Brown University, University of Redlands, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Johns Hopkins University receiving votes.

2010 Varsity Top 20 (Preseason)

Men's Varsity Division III Top 10

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges returns to the No. 1 position in the Men's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll after ranking No. 5 in the final rankings for the 2009 season.

The Sagehens picked up 97 points to outdistance the University of RedlandsWhittier College (3rd, 89 points), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (T-4th, 84 points) and Johns Hopkins University (2nd, 92 points), (T-4th, 84 points).

Chapman University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Lutheran University, University of La Verne and Occidental College round out the Top 10, with Washington & Jefferson College receiving votes.

Men's Varsity Division III Top 10

The United States Naval Academy and St. Francis College (N.Y.) will enter the 2010 season in a familiar position - on top of the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings as the Midshipmen and Terriers are tied for the No. 1 position in the CWPA Preseason Poll.  

The all-time most victorious team in Collegiate Water Polo Association history with championships in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008, Navy, which appeared the program's fifth consecutive Eastern Championship title game last season, will seek to claim the program's record 10th league title this year. 

St. Francis, which returns to the league structure following a one-year stay, will seek the program's second league title after previously capturing the 2005 crown.

However, defending league champion and three-time titleist Princeton University, five-time champion Bucknell University and four-time winner Brown University, which earned the No. 3-5 rankings in the preseason poll, will also look to recapture the Eastern title.

Johns Hopkins University, Fordham University, Iona College, George Washington University and Mercyhurst College round out the Top 10, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Queens College (N.Y.) receiving votes.

Collegiate