BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Week 1/September 6 Polls for the 2017 season.
The University of California continues to lead the National Top 20 Poll as the defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Golden Bears hold a narrow one-point lead over the Trojans of the University of Southern California (97 points), while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges clings to a two-point margin over Johns Hopkins University in the Division III Top 10 Poll.
Defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Bucknell University hangs onto the top spot in the MAWPC Top Five rankings, while 2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University acquires company on top of the NWPC Top Five as Princeton University ties the Crimson for the No. 1 position.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NEWPC, 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.
2017 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 1/September 6)
The University of California continues to lead the National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll as the Golden Bears collect 98 points to hold off a surging University of Southern California (97 points) squad in the Week 1/September 6 voting.
Cal, which claimed the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, retains the No. 1 spot in a poll which experiences moderate changes from the Preseason balloting. USC remains at No. 2 after finishing as the runner-up at the 2016 NCAA Championship in the Preseason voting, while Stanford University (90 points), the University of California-Los Angeles (87 points) and University of the Pacific (80 points) round out a Top Five which experiences no changes.
Long Beach State University (71 points) moves up two positions to tie the University of California-Santa Barbara (71 points) at No. 6. Due to Long Beach State’s rise, Pepperdine University (68 points) slips to No. 8 with the University of California-Davis (60 points) and Harvard University (49 points points) sticking at No. 9 and 10, respectively, for another week.
Princeton University (47 points) and the University of California-Irvine (47 points) are now tied at No. 11 with the University of California-San Diego (38 points) falling one position to No. 13. Brown University (37 points) and California Baptist University (29 points) both ascend one position to take over at No. 14 and 15. Bucknell University (20 points), which stood at No. 14 in the Preseason, drops back to No. 16.
George Washington University (18 points) bumps up to No. 17 with St. Francis College Brooklyn (12 points) and Loyola Marymount University (12 points) tying at No. 18. Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (10 points) claims the final position to rate as the sole Division III program to crack the Top 20.
2017 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 1/September 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California-Los Angeles | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | University of the Pacific | 5 | 80 |
| 6 (T) | Long Beach State University | 8 | 71 |
| 6 (T) | University of California-Santa Barbara | 6 | 71 |
| 8 | Pepperdine University | 7 | 68 |
| 9 | University of California-Davis | 9 | 60 |
| 10 | Harvard University | 10 | 49 |
| 11 (T) | University of California-Irvine | 13 | 47 |
| 11 (T) | Princeton University | 11 | 47 |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 12 | 38 |
| 14 | Brown University | 15 | 37 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 16 | 29 |
| 16 | Bucknell University | 14 | 20 |
| 17 | George Washington University | 18 | 18 |
| 18 (T) | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 19 (T) | 12 |
| 18 (T) | Loyola Marymount University | 17 | 12 |
| 20 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 (T) | 10 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 6 |
| RV | Concordia University | NR | 4 |
| RV | San Jose State University | RV | 4 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | NR | 2 |
| RV | Wagner College | NR | 1 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 1/September 6)
The Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will go into Week 2 of the 2017 men’s varsity season by retaining status as the No. 1 program in the Week 1/September 6 Division III Top 10.
Pomona-Pitzer (97 points) stays on top of a Division III poll which underwent significant changes from the preseason rankings.
Johns Hopkins University (95 points), which was tied with Whittier College at No. 2 last week, claims sole custody of the runner-up position as the Poets (92 points) slip back to No. 3 The University of Redlands (80 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (80 points) are now tied at No. 4 as the two team rated at No. 4 and 5 last week, respectively.
Chapman University (78 points) sticks at No. 6 with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (71 points) jumping one position to No. 7.
Occidental College (58 points) and the University of La Verne (58 points) are now tied at No. 8 with California Lutheran University (52 points) holding down the No. 10 spot.
2017 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 1/September 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2 (T) | 95 |
| 3 | Whittier College | 2 (T) | 92 |
| 4 (T) | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 5 | 80 |
| 4 (T) | University of Redlands | 4 | 80 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 | 78 |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8 | 71 |
| 8 (T) | Occidental College | 9 | 58 |
| 8 (T) | University of La Verne | 10 | 58 |
| 10 | California Lutheran University | 7 | 52 |
| RV | Connecticut College | NR | 14 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 6)
Bucknell University retains its preseason selection as the No. 1 selection in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Week 1/September 6 Top Five Poll following the opening weekend of action.
The 2016 MAWPC Champion Bison (98 points), who rated as a unanimous top selection last week, top a league Top Five which saw minimal changes.
George Washington University (93 points), which finished as the runner-up to host Bucknell last season at the MAWPC Championship, inches closer to the Bison to close the gap between the two programs from eight points (100-to-92) in the preseason voting to five (98-to-93) after the first two days of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.
Johns Hopkins University (91 points) follows the Colonials in pursuit of Bucknell as the Blue Jays crack the 90 point mark after notching 88 points last week.
Fordham University (87 points) and Wagner College (65 points) break out of a deadlock at No. 4 as the Rams and Seahawks now stand at No. 4 and 5. The United States Naval Academy (16 points) also received votes this week.
The MAWPC features 14 teams as Bucknell, George Washington, Wagner, Johns Hopkins, Fordham and Navy comprise the Eastern Region, with Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, Monmouth College, Salem International University, Washington & Jefferson College, Connecticut College, La Salle University and first-year varsity program McKendree University competing in the Western Region.
2017 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 98 |
| 2 | George Washington University | 2 | 93 |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | Fordham University | 4 (T) | 87 |
| 5 | Wagner College | 4 (T) | 65 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | NR | 16 |
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 6)
Inaugural/2016 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Harvard University, which tied for Third Place at last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, gains some familiar company on top of the Week 1/September 6 NWPC Top Five Poll as the Tigers of Princeton University pull even with the Crimson.
Comprised of Brown University, Harvard, Iona College, Princeton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Saint Francis College Brooklyn, the NWPC ranks see only one change as the Tigers pull even with Harvard after the opening weekend of action.
Harvard (97 points), which held a 98-to-94 lead over Princeton (97 points) last week are now the men’s water polo equals of their fellow Ivy League institution brethren in the eyes of the NWPC pollsters.
Brown (91 points), St. Francis Brooklyn (84 points) and Iona (64 points) follow at No. 3-to-5 to complete the Top Five with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (17 points) earning recognition by receiving votes.
2017 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 1/September 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | Harvard University | 1 | 97 |
| 1 (T) | Princeton University | 2 | 97 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | Iona College | 5 | 64 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 17 |
