BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of California-Los Angeles and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges remain favored to claim the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and USA Water Polo Division III National Champions, respectively, as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the official 2024 Men’s Varsity Week 4/October 2 National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.
UCLA – which finished second in the final 2023 poll after dropping a 13-11 contest with the University of California for the 2023 NCAA title – retains top billing in the National Top 20, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – which took down the University of Redlands by a 6-5 score last year to capture the USA Water Polo Division III crown – continues as the top-ranked team in the Division III Top 10.
Defending MAWPC champion Fordham University and NWPC champion Princeton University retain the crowns of No. 1 teams in their leagues’ Top Five rankings.
Voted on by a panel of coaches, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2024 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 4/October 2)
The University of California-Los Angeles continues as a unanimous top pick in the 2024 Week 4/October 2 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
UCLA (100 points) retains a six-point lead over the University of Southern California (94 points).
Stanford University (91 points), Pepperdine University (84 points) and University of the Pacific (81 points) complete a Top Five which remains consistent from last week’s rankings.
The University of California (69 points) – which held sole custody of the No. 6 position last week – gains company as the University of California-Irvine (69 points) and Fordham University (69 points) inch up from No. 8 and 9, respectively, to create a three-way tie with the Golden Bears at No. 6.
Princeton University (61 points) slips back to No. 9 with Long Beach State University (55 points) rating at No. 10.
San Jose State University (53 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (46 points), the University of California-San Diego (37 points), Harvard University (34 points) and Santa Clara University (30 points) rearrange to stand at No. 11-to-15 with Loyola Marymount University (26 points), the University of California-Davis (22 points), Brown University (13 points) and California Baptist University (11 points) claiming No. 16-to-19.
The United States Naval Academy (4 points) and the United States Air Force Academy (4 points) complete the Top 20 in a tie for the final position.
2024 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 4/October 2) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles |
1 | 100 |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
2 | 94 |
| 3 |
Stanford University |
3 | 91 |
| 4 |
Pepperdine University |
4 | 84 |
| 5 |
University of the Pacific |
5 |
81 |
| 6 (T) |
University of California-Irvine |
8 |
69 |
| 6 (T) |
Fordham University |
9 (T) | 69 |
| 6 (T) | University of California |
6 |
69 |
| 9 |
Princeton University |
7 | 61 |
| 10 |
Long Beach State University |
9 (T) | 55 |
| 11 |
San Jose State University |
9 (T) |
53 |
| 12 |
University of California-Santa Barbara |
12 |
46 |
| 13 |
University of California-San Diego |
16 |
37 |
| 14 |
Harvard University |
14 |
34 |
| 15 |
Santa Clara University |
18 |
30 |
| 16 |
Loyola Marymount University |
15 |
26 |
| 17 |
University of California-Davis |
13 |
22 |
| 18 |
Brown University |
19 |
13 |
| 19 |
California Baptist University |
20 |
11 |
| 20 (T) |
United States Air Force Academy |
RV |
4 |
| 20 (T) | United States Naval Academy |
17 | 4 |
| RV | Wagner College |
RV | 2 |
2024 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 4/October 2)
Defending USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges retains the lead position in the 2024 Week 4/October 2 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The Stags (100 points) remain a unanimous top selection to hold a nine-point margin compared to both Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (91 points) and the University of Redlands (91 points).
Chapman University (87 points), California Lutheran University (81 points) and Whittier College (72 points) hang on at No. 4-to-6, respectively, for another seven-day run, while Occidental College (68 points) gains company at No. 7 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (68 points).
The final two positions in the Top 10 flip this week as the University of La Verne (45 points) supplants Johns Hopkins University (38 points) at No. 9.
2024 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 4/October 2) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges |
1 |
100 |
| 2 (T) |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges |
2 | 91 |
| 2 (T) | University of Redlands |
3 |
91 |
| 4 | Chapman University |
4 | 87 |
| 5 |
California Lutheran University |
5 |
81 |
| 6 |
Whittier College |
6 |
72 |
| 7 (T) |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
8 |
68 |
| 7 (T) |
Occidental College |
7 | 68 |
| 9 |
University of La Verne |
10 |
45 |
| 10 |
Johns Hopkins University |
9 | 38 |
| RV |
Augustana College |
RV | 34 |
2024 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/October 2)
Fordham University – which claimed the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championships – remains on the path to a potential four-peat as the Rams top the 2024 Week 4/October 2 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
The Rams (100 points) expand their lead to seven points over a new runner-up as Bucknell University (93 points) and Wagner College (88 points) ascend to No. 2 and 3.
The United States Naval Academy (85 points) slips back to No. 4 with George Washington University (84 points) remaining at No. 5.
2024 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/October 2) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
Bucknell University |
3 | 93 |
| 3 | Wagner College |
4 |
88 |
| 4 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 85 |
| 5 |
George Washington University |
5 | 84 |
2024 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/October 2)
Three-time defending Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University maintains its lead in the 2024 Week 4/October 2 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) continue as a unanimous No. 1 selection with three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (95 points), Brown University (90 points), Iona University (85 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (80 points) maintaining their prior positions to complete the Top Five.
2024 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 4/October 2) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Week 3 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Harvard University |
2 |
95 |
| 3 | Brown University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 |
Iona University |
4 |
85 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
5 | 80 |
