BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of Southern California is favored to repeat as National Champion as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2019 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Preseason Polls.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, which captured the 2018 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) title, will commence the new season at No. 1 in the Division III Poll, while George Washington University and Bucknell University, which met in the 2019 MAWPC title game, enter the new year tied in their league poll.
2018 NWPC Champion Princeton University is the early favorite to claim its league championship in 2019.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NWPC, Golden Coast Conference, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), 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.
2019 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Preseason)
The University of Southern California will open the season on top of the sport as the squad holds the No. 1 position in the 2019 Preseason National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
The Trojans (98 points) lead a Preseason Top 10 in which four ties occur (No. 2, 5, 7, 16) as parity appears to be the keyword heading into the next varsity men’s water polo season.
Stanford University (92 points) and the University of California-Los Angeles (92 points) – which finished the 2018 season at No. 2 and 3 – begin the new campaign tied at No. 2 in the rankings, while the University of California (87 points) retains its prior placement at No. 4.
University of the Pacific (74 points) and Long Beach State University (74 points) are tied at No. 5 with the duo of the University of California-Santa Barbara (68 points) and Pepperdine University (68 points) deadlocked at No. 7.
The University of California-San Diego (66 points) and the University of California-Davis (54 points) conclude the Top 10 as the pair come in at No. 9 and 10, respectively.
Harvard University (45 points), Princeton University (44 points), the University of California-Irvine (36 points), Loyola Marymount University (33 points) and George Washington University (29 points) rate at No. 11-to-15 to stand ahead of Bucknell University (20 points) and California Baptist University (20 points) which are tied at No. 16.
San Jose State University (15 points), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (14 points) and Brown University (9 points) complete the Top 20 at No. 18-to-20.
2019 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2018 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 1 | 98 |
| 2 (T) |
University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 92 |
| 2 (T) | Stanford University | 2 | 92 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 87 |
| 5 (T) |
University of the Pacific | 8 | 74 |
| 5 (T) | Long Beach State University | 6 | 74 |
| 7 (T) |
University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 68 |
| 7 (T) | Pepperdine University | 9 | 68 |
| 9 | University of California-San Diego | 5 | 66 |
| 10 | University of California-Davis | 10 | 54 |
| 11 | Harvard University | 14 | 45 |
| 12 |
Princeton University | 13 | 44 |
| 13 |
University of California-Irvine | 15 | 36 |
| 14 | Loyola Marymount University | 12 | 33 |
| 15 |
George Washington University | 11 | 29 |
| 16 (T) |
Bucknell University | 18 | 20 |
| 16 (T) |
California Baptist University | 16 | 20 |
| 18 |
San Jose State University | RV | 15 |
| 19 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 17 | 14 |
| 20 |
Brown University | RV | 9 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | 19 | 7 |
| RV |
United States Naval Academy | NR | 5 |
| RV | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 20 | 4 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | 20 | 2 |
| RV | Whittier College | 20 | 2 |
2019 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will open the 2019 season at No. 1 in the Preseason Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
Entering the inaugural season of the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Championship – which will match the top two teams from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championship against two of the top three finishing teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) – Pomona-Pitzer leads a Division III Preseason ranking which reflects the final poll of 2018.
Some changes do occur as Whittier College (89 points), which finished at No. 5 in the final 2018 balloting, jumps up to No. 2 heading into 2019. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (87 points), California Lutheran University (82 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (81 points) round out the first five.
Chapman University (77 points), the University of Redlands (72 points), Johns Hopkins University (69 points), Occidental College (46 points) and the University of La Verne (38 points) complete the Preseason Top 10.
2019 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2018 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Whittier College | 5 | 89 |
| 3 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 (T) | 87 |
| 4 | California Lutheran University | 4 | 82 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 (T) | 81 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 | 77 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 7 | 72 |
| 8 | Johns Hopkins University | 8 | 69 |
| 9 | Occidental College | 9 | 46 |
| 10 | University of La Verne | 10 | 38 |
| RV | Austin College | NR | 23 |
| RV | Pen State Behrend | NR | 11 |
2019 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason)
George Washington University and Bucknell University went the distance last year in the league title game with the Colonials repeating as Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion via a 12-11 victory in overtime. Now, nine months later, the two teams will start the 2019 season as equals as GW and Bucknell are tied at No. 1 in the MAWPC Preseason Top Five Poll.
The 2017 and 2018 MAWPC Champion Colonials (97 points) and 2016 MAWPC Champion Bison (97 points) stand on top of a MAWPC Poll which experiences significant adjustments from the final 2018 voting.
Fordham University (85 points) and the United States Naval Academy (85 points) will aim to become the third team to claim the MAWPC title in the four-year history of the league as the Rams and Midshipmen are tied at No. 3.
Wagner College (70 points) rounds out the Top Five.
The MAWPC features 14 teams as Bucknell, Fordham, George Washington, Navy, Wagner, Johns Hopkins University and La Salle University comprise the Eastern Region, with Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, Monmouth College, Salem University, Washington & Jefferson College, Connecticut College and McKendree University competing in the Western Region.
2019 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2018 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) |
George Washington University | 1 | 97 |
| 1 (T) | Bucknell University | 2 | 97 |
| 3 (T) |
Fordham University | 4 | 85 |
| 3 (T) | United States Naval Academy | NR | 85 |
| 5 | Wagner College | 3 | 70 |
| RV | Johns Hopkins University | 5 | 16 |
2019 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason)
2018 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Princeton University is the favorite heading into 2019 to capture the league crown per the NWPC Preseason Top Five Poll.
The Tigers (99 points) are followed by 2016 and 2017 NWPC Champion Harvard University (95 points), Brown University (90 points), St. Francis College Brooklyn (85 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (85 points) with Iona College (16 points) receiving votes.
2019 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2018 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 99 |
| 2 |
Harvard University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Brown University | 4 | 90 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 3 | 85 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 65 |
| RV | Iona College | NR | 16 |
