BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of Southern California remains the unanimous top team in the country to highlight the 2017 Women’s Varsity Top 25, Division III Top 10, Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 and CWPA Division III Top Five Week 11/March 29 Polls released today by the CWPA.
USC, which snapped a seven-week run by Stanford University as the top team in the land as the Cardinal ranked at No. 1 in the Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 and Week 6 voting prior to falling to the Trojans by a 10-9 score in overtime at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational title game at the University of California-Irvine, holds its lead at four points over the Cardinal which remain in second place.
Whittier College returns to the top position in the Division III Top 10 to displace Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
There are no changes at the top of the other National Polls as the University of Michigan (CWPA Top 10) and Washington & Jefferson College (CWPA Division III Top Five) maintain their positions this week.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the CWPA, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), Big West Conference, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Women’s Varsity polls are compiled and released on each Wednesday during the season through the week following the NCAA Championship.
2017 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 (Week 11/March 29)
Defending National Champion the University of Southern California retains the No. 1 ranking as the Trojans top the Week 11/March 29 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 Poll.
USC (100 points) remains a unanimous selection as the top team in the nation and leads a Top 25 Poll in which the first four positions for the first time since the final poll of the 2016 season.
Stanford University (96 points) and the University of California-Los Angeles (92 points) hold at No. 2 and 3, but Arizona State University (86 points) on the strength of a 7-6 victory over former No. 4 the University of California (84 points) rises two spots to crack the Top Four. The ranking breaks a run of USC, UCLA, Stanford and California rating in the Top Four dating back to when the University of Michigan wrapped up the 2016 at No. 4 in the land.
California falls back to No. 5 with the University of California-Irvine (80 points) sliding to No. 6. Michigan (77 points), the University of Hawaii (73 points), University of the Pacific (68 points) and Princeton University (62 points) round out the Top 10 as the quartet sticking at No. 7-to-10, respectively, for another seven-day stretch.
The University of California-Davis (61 points), which ranked in a tie at No. 10 last week with Princeton, falls out of the Top 10 and back to No. 11 with San Diego State University (52 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (52 points) now tied at No. 12.
San Jose State University (46 points), Indiana University (44 points), Long Beach State University (41 points) and Wagner College (36 points) remain at No. 14-to-17. The University of California-San Diego (33 points) takes over at No. 18 from Hartwick College (32 points) to force the Hawks back to No. 19 in front of No. 20 Harvard University (21 points).
Loyola Marymount University (18 points), CSU Bakersfield (17 points), California State University-Northridge (15 points), Marist College (13 points) and California Baptist University (3 points) compete the Top 25.
2017 Varsity Top 25 Poll (Week 11/March 29) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Stanford University | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 92 |
| 4 | Arizona State University | 6 | 86 |
| 5 | University of California | 4 | 84 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 5 | 80 |
| 7 | University of Michigan | 7 | 77 |
| 8 | University of Hawaii | 8 | 73 |
| 9 | University of the Pacific | 9 | 68 |
| 10 | Princeton University | 10 (T) | 62 |
| 11 | University of California-Davis | 10 (T) | 61 |
| 12 (T) | San Diego State University | 12 | 52 |
| 12 (T) | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13 | 52 |
| 14 | San Jose State University | 14 | 46 |
| 15 | Indiana University | 15 | 44 |
| 16 | Long Beach State University | 16 | 41 |
| 17 | Wagner College | 17 | 36 |
| 18 | University of California-San Diego | 19 | 33 |
| 19 | Hartwick College | 18 | 32 |
| 20 | Harvard University | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Loyola Marymount University | 21 | 18 |
| 22 | CSU Bakersfield | 22 (T) | 17 |
| 23 | California State University, Northridge | 22 (T) | 15 |
| 24 | Marist College | 24 | 9 |
| 25 | California Baptist University | 25 (T) | 3 |
| RV | Bucknell University | 25 (T) | 1 |
2017 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 11/March 29)
Whittier College, which defeated prior No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a 9-8 count over the weekend, returns to the No. 1 slot in the Week 11/March 29 Division III Top 10 Poll.
The Poets (99 points), who fell behind Pomona-Pitzer two weeks ago after tying with the Sagehens in the Week 8 balloting and rating at No. 1 in the Preseason-to-Week 7 voting, reclaims sole custody of the top spot among small colleges.
Pomona-Pitzer (95 points) slips to No. 2 with the University of La Verne (91 points) continuing at No. 3 for another week.
California Lutheran University (83 points) edges out Chapman University (82 points) to take over at No. 4, with Chapman, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (75 points), the University of Redlands (69 points) and Occidental College (66 points) wrapping up an All-California Top Eight.
Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) front-runner Washington & Jefferson College (47 points) clings to the No. 9 slot for another week, while Carthage College (33 points) cracks the Top 10 in the final position.
Macalester College (23 points) and Connecticut College (12 points) also received votes.
2017 Division III Top 10 Poll (Week 11/March 29) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Whittier College | 2 | 99 |
| 2 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 95 |
| 3 | University of La Verne | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | California Lutheran University | 5 | 83 |
| 5 | Chapman University | 4 | 82 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 7 | 69 |
| 8 | Occidental College | 8 | 66 |
| 9 | Washington & Jefferson College | 9 | 47 |
| 10 | Carthage College | RV | 33 |
| RV | Macalester College | 10 | 23 |
| RV | Connecticut College | NR | 12 |
2017 Women’s CWPA Top 10 (Week 11/March 29)
While the National Top 25 and Division III Top 10 experienced significant changes, 2016 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion and preseason favorite the University of Michigan remains the No. 1 selection in the Week 11/March 29 CWPA Top 10 Poll.
None of the positions in the Top 10 change hands this week as Princeton University (95 points), Indiana University (89 points), Hartwick College (86 points) and Harvard University (79 points) remain at No. 2-to-5 behind the Wolverines (100 points).
Brown University (76 points), Bucknell University (70 points), George Washington University (65 points), Saint Francis University (60 points) and Washington & Jefferson College (55 points) complete a Top 10 in which no program made significant strides towards dislodging another school.
2017 CWPA Poll Top 10 Poll (Week 11/March 29) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Michigan | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Indiana University | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | Hartwick College | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Harvard University | 5 | 79 |
| 6 | Brown University | 6 | 76 |
| 7 | Bucknell University | 7 | 70 |
| 8 | George Washington University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | Saint Francis University (Pa.) | 9 | 60 |
| 10 | Washington & Jefferson College | 10 | 55 |
2017 Women’s CWPA Division III Top 5 (Week 11/March 29)
2014, 2015 and 2016 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship runner-up Washington & Jefferson College stays at No. 1 in the Week 11/March 29 CWPA Division III Top Five Poll following the first full weekend of league play at Connecticut College.
W&J (100 points), which stands as a unanimous top selection as the lone Division III league team without a defeat to one of the CWPA’s other programs, holds a dominating six-point lead over new No. 2 Carthage College (94 points) and a 29 point spread against former runner-up Macalester College (71 points).
Four-time CWPA Division III Champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Connecticut College (67 points) drops out of a tie with Carthage at No. 3 last week to rate at No. 4. Monmouth College (51 points) completes a Top Five in which some teams hold victories over higher ranked teams and defeats from squads below them in the rankings.
Grove City College (48 points) and Penn State Behrend (35 points) also received votes.
2017 CWPA Division III Top 5 Poll (Week 11/March 29) |
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| Rank | Team | 2017 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Washington & Jefferson College | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Carthage College | 3 (T) | 94 |
| 3 | Macalester College | 2 | 71 |
| 4 | Connecticut College | 3 (T) | 67 |
| 5 | Monmouth College | RV | 51 |
| RV | Grove City College | 5 | 48 |
| RV | Penn State Behrend | RV | 35 |
