USA Water Polo

Cal Bears Take Over Top Spot In Men's Top 20 Poll

10/20/2010 12:00:00 AM

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- One month later and the No. 1 team returns to the coaches' preseason selection as the University of California garnered 100 points to rate as a unanimous top choice in the Week 7/October 20 Men's Varsity Top 20 poll released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges rates as a unanimous choice in the Division III Top 10 poll, while St. Francis College (N.Y.) held onto the No. 1 ranking in the conference for another week as a unanimous choice.

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

The University of California returns to the No. 1 spot for the first time since September 15 as the as the Golden Bears garnered 100 points to rank as a unanimous No. 1 selection in the Week 7/October 20 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, previously ranked No. 1 as a unanimous choice in the September 8 and 15 polls before the University of Southern California took over the top spot in the September 22, September 29, October 6 and October 13 polls.

The ranking caps a dramatic climb from No. 4 in the October 6 poll, to second in the October 13 and finally the top spot for the Golden Bears who defeated UCLA 11-8 two weeks ago and former No. 1 USC 12-9 over the weekend to regain top billing on the national scene.

The victory over USC avenges the defeat which dropped Cal from No. 1 and the ranks of the unbeaten in the nation as the Trojans handed the Golden Bears a 12-11 set back earlier in the season.

USC falls to No. 2 this week with the remainder of the "Top Eight" holding steady from the October 13 balloting.  UCLA, Stanford University, the University of California-Irvine, the University of California-Santa Barbara, University of the Pacific and Long Beach State University stay at No. 3-8, respectively, for another week, while Loyola Marymount University climbs one place to No. 9 and Pepperdine University breaks into the Top 10 after ranking 13th last week.

The final 10 positions in the poll also experienced radical changes with only No. 11 the University of California-Davis and No. 20 Brown University defending their rankings from the October 13 poll.

The University of California-San Diego slides three places to No. 12 to start the changes as Santa Clara University, St. Francis College (N.Y.), California Baptist University, the United States Naval Academy, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Princeton University, Concordia University rank No. 13-19.

At No. 20, Brown receives company as Bucknell University shattered the ceiling to the Top 20 to tie the Bears for the final position.

The United States Air Force Academy and Johns Hopkins University conclude the teams of note as the duo received votes.

Men's Varsity Division III Top 10

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges holds on as the No. 1 selection in the Week 7/October 20 Men's Varsity Division III Top 10 poll.

The Sagehens, who replaced the University of Redlands in the standings  as the No. 1 team four weeks ago, saw their lead explode to six points over the Bulldogs (100-to-94) as Pomona-Pitzer became a unanimous No. 1 selection.

Johns Hopkins University holds at No. 3 this week, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges surpasses Whittier College to take over at No. 4.

 Chapman University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Occidental College, California Lutheran University  and the University of La Verne complete the Top 10.

Washington & Jefferson College finishes off the rankings as the Presidents received 11 points to miss out on cracking the Top 10 for another week.

Men's CWPA Top 10

St. Francis College (N.Y.) continues to roll along on top of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) as the Terriers retained their position as the No. 1 team in the Week 7/October 20 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Men's Varsity Division III Top 10 poll.

The United States Naval Academy, Princeton University, Brown University and Johns Hopkins University rank No. 2-5, respectively.  Navy climbs into the No. 2 spot thanks to a 7-6 sudden death overtime victory against Princeton, while Brown and Hopkins hold firm for another week.

Bucknell University, which downed Princeton over the weekend, moves into the No. 6 position with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Mercyhurst College sliding to No. 7 and 8, respectively.  

George Washington University and Fordham University conclude the Top 10 as the Colonials and Rams tied for the No. 9 position. Harvard University and Queens College (N.Y.) complete the teams noted in the polling as the Crimson and Knights received votes.

Collegiate