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CWPA Tiebreaker Procedure

Due to the complexity of the Collegiate Water Polo Association structure, the possibility of ties in divisions is a probable occurence during the course of a season.

To break these ties, a fair and balanced system was created to guarantee that seeding and advancement within competition is based not on the opinion of coaches or the league office, but on the performance of the teams.

The tiebreaker procedures are used to eliminate one team at a team.  For example, a three-way tie uses goal differential only between the three teams tied. The team that has the highest goal differential is removed and the remaining two teams use head-to-head results to break their tie.

Tie Breaker System – All Situations
If two teams are tied using the tie breaker system below and they have played each other, the head-to-head competition is used to determine ranking. Note, in the event that a team forfeited a game during the season, that team is eliminated from tie-breaker consideration and is seeded at the lowest position among the tied teams.

Tie Breaker System – Two Teams
If the won/loss records of two teams are the same, the team that won in their head-to-head competition is the higher seed. If these teams each beat one another, the goal differential in their games is used to break the tie. If the goal differential in their contests against one another is the same, the total of goals scored against each other is used. If the total of goals scored between the teams is equal, the differential for all common opponents seeded higher is used. If no common opponents are seeded higher, the goal differential against the highest seeded common opponent is used.

Tie Breaker System – Three or More Teams (for seeding championships)
If more than two teams are tied in won/loss records, goal differentials among the teams tied serves as the tiebreaker to determine the best team within the group until only two teams remain. The final two teams use their head-to-head results to break the tie. If the top two teams based on goal differentials are tied, the tie is broken with the results of their head-to-head competition.

If the goal differential among all teams tied is the same, the total of goals scored against each other is used. If the total of goals scored between the teams is equal, the goal differential between common opponents seeded higher will be used to determine ranking. This may require averaging the goal differential per game if the number of games between common opponents is unequal. Should teams be tied in won/loss record and they have not played each other, goal differentials against common opponents that are seeded above them are used. If no common opponents are seeded higher, the goal differential against the highest seeded common opponent is used.

Tie Breaker System-Three or More Teams (for advancement w/in championships)
If all tiebreakers remain equal, their original seeding will serve as the tiebreaker.

Goal Differential
Goal differential is a term used to describe the difference between goals scored against an opponent and the number of goals scored by an opponent against a particular team.

Collegiate Water Polo Association