USA Water Polo

Cal Bears Atop Men's Division One Top 20 Poll After Week One

9/8/2010 12:00:00 AM

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of California and the University of Redlands rank at No. 1 in the nation as the Golden Bears and Bulldogs topped the Week 1/September 8 Men's Varsity Top 20 and Division III Top 10 polls released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA). The United States Naval Academy earned the No. 1 spot in the CWPA conference poll.

In the CWPA Top 10 Poll, the United States Naval Academy took over sole possession of the No. 1 ranking in the conference by earning 100 points to rate as a unanimous selection.

Voted on by a panel of coaches and administrators from around the country during the preseason and each week of the 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

Following one of the tightest preseason polls in the history of the sport, the University of California cleared up the question of who the No. 1 team in the country is by downing the University of California-Davis (14-4 W) and Santa Clara University (14-5 W) to become a unanimous selection as the top team in the Week 1/September 8 Men's Varsity National Top 20.

California, which  garnered 95 points to edge out the University of California-Los Angeles by a single point (95-to-94) in the preseason rankings, expanded its margin to seven points over the Bruins as UCLA remains at No. 2 with 93 points.

The Top Five teams in the nation remain unchanged with Stanford University (90 points), defending national champion the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of California-Irvine (78 points) holding onto their spots for another week. (87 points) and the

Overall, the top 13 teams in the nation remain located in the Golden State of California as the  University of California-Santa Barbara, University of the Pacific, Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University and Long Beach State University 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, the United States Naval Academy remains locked as the top East Coast school, with the University of California-Davis jumping up two places to take over at No. 15.

St. Francis College (N.Y.), California Baptist University, Princeton University, the United States Air Force Academy and Bucknell University round round out the Top 20, with Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Fordham University and University of Redlands receiving votes.

Men's Varsity Division III Top 10

The University of Redlands edges out Preseason top-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for the No. 1 spot in the Week 1/September 8 Men's Varsity Division III Top 10 poll.

The Bulldogs picked up 97 points to edge the Sagehens (96 points) by a single point, while Johns Hopkins University, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Whittier College round out the Top Five.

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

Men's Varsity Division III Top 10

The United States Naval Academy used a 7-0 weekend at the season-opening Navy Open versus varsity competition, including victories over fellow Collegiate Water Polo Association members Penn State-Behrend College (19-4 W), Gannon University (18-7 W), Fordham University (11-10 W), Queens College (16-6 W) and Mercyhurst College (15-8 W, 16-4 W), to claim sole possession of the top ranking in the Week 1/September 8 CWPA Top 10 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, broke a tie with St. Francis College a top the standings as the Terriers slipped back to No. 3 this week, one point behind defending conference champion and formerly No. 3 ranked Princeton University. 

Brown University and Johns Hopkins University moved up from No. 5 and 6, respectively, to tie for the No. 4 position this week.

The poll, which is voted on exclusively by CWPA coaches, attempts to balance the results of the Navy Open at No. 6-through-receiving votes as five of the final six teams faced each other over the weekend.

Fordham jumps up one place to No. 6 this week as the Rams defeated No. 9 ranked George Washington University (11-5 W) and lost to No. 7 ranked Bucknell (16-13 L).  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is the sole team in the grouping that did not play at Navy, moves into the Top 10 at No. 8.  George Washington remains at No. 9 this week after defeating Queens College (9-7 W) and falling to Fordham (11-5 L) and Mercyhurst (5-3 L).  Mercyhurst, which was ranked 10th in the preseason poll, slides into a tie with George Washington at No. 9 as the Lakers defeated the Colonials (5-3 W), but lost to Queens (8-7 L).  Finally, Queens rates in the "Receiving Votes" category as the Knights defeated Mercyhurst (8-7 W) and Bucknell (15-14 W), but lost to George Washington (9-7 L).

Iona College, which joins Princeton as the only teams in the poll not to have played this week, falls out of the Top 10 to join Queens in the "Receiving Votes" group.

2010 CWPA Poll (September 8)

Collegiate