BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The
University of Southern California (USC) defended its No. 1
national ranking by capturing the program's third consecutive National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Water Polo Championship over the
weekend against the host Golden Bears of the University of
California to finish the year as the No. 1 team in the Varsity Top 20
poll released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
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.
USC, which took
over the top spot in the December 1 poll for the first time since October 13 by
claiming the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) during the weekend of
November November 26-2, picked up all the first place votes to conclude the year
as the unanimous No. 1 selection.
Overall, it
marks the fifth week during the season that the Trojans topped the poll as USC
previously earned No. 1 rankings on September 22, September 29, October 6 and
October 13.
Cal, which fell
in the national title game at home by a 12-10 final in overtime, wraps up the
year in second place with 95 points, while Stanford University
and the University of California-Los Angeles conclude the 2010
campaign in third and fourth place, respectively.
The
Univ
ersity of California-Irvine and the
University of California-Santa Barbara held on at No. 5 and 6,
while Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) champion Loyola Marymount
University, which placed third at the four-team NCAA Championship,
moves up one place to seventh.
University of the Pacific slips to No. 8, with
Pepperdine University holding firm at No. 9.
The sole
newcomer to the Top 10 is CWPA champion St. Francis College
(N.Y.) which usurps the final position in the top half of the poll from
Long Beach State University following a fourth place finish at
the NCAA Championship.
LBSU slips back
to No. 11 to conclude the changes to the Top 20 as the final nine positions
remain constant from the December 1 balloting.
|
|
Rank
|
Team
|
December 1
Poll
|
Points
|
| 1 |
University of Southern California |
1 |
100 |
2
|
University of California
|
2 (T) |
95 |
| 3 |
Stanford University
|
2 (T) |
90 |
| 4 |
University of California, Los Angeles
|
4 |
85 |
| 5 |
University of California, Irvine
|
5 |
79 |
| 6 |
University of California, Santa Barbara
|
6 |
73 |
| 7 |
Loyola Marymount University
|
8 |
72 |
| 8 |
University of the Pacific |
7 |
67 |
| 9 |
Pepperdine University
|
9 |
59 |
| 10 |
St. Francis College (N.Y.)
|
11 |
52 |
11
|
Long Beach State University |
10
|
50 |
12
|
University of California, Davis
|
12
|
48 |
13
|
Santa Clara University
|
13
|
40 |
14
|
University of California, San Diego
|
14 |
38 |
| 15 |
United States Naval Academy
|
15 |
29 |
| 16 |
Princeton University
|
16
|
23 |
17
|
California Baptist University
|
17
|
20 |
18
|
Bucknell University
|
18 |
17 |
19
|
Concordia University (Calif.)
|
19 |
9 |
20
|
United States Air Force Academy |
20 |
8 |
| RV |
Brown University
|
RV |
1 |