Collegiate Water Polo Association Releases 2019 Women’s Varsity Preseason Polls; Defending National Champion the University of Southern California to Open at No. 1

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Defending National Champion the University of Southern California is favored to repeat as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2019 Women’s Varsity National Top 25, Division III Top 10, CWPA Top 10 and CWPA Division III Top Five Polls.

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Division III), the University of Michigan (CWPA Top 10) and Macalester College (CWPA Division III Top Five) also retain top-billing in their respective rankings.

Voted on by a panel of coaches from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), the Golden Coast Conference, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Big West Conference, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and the CWPA based on the cumulative results of the season, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

2019 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 (Preseason)

The University of Southern California, which captured the 2018 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, will open the 2019 season as the top-ranked team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Women’s Varsity National Top 25 Poll.

USC (100 points) holds a unique position as the Trojans enter 2019 as a unanimous top selection.  Stanford University (96 points), which fell to host USC in the National Championship title game by a 5-4 score, will start the new campaign where the Cardinal finished in 2018 – No. 2. 

The first change from the final poll of 2018 comes at No. 3 as the University of California-Los Angeles (90 points) moves ahead of the University of California (89 points).  Arizona State University (80 points) remains at No. 5, while the University of Hawaii (76 points) and the University of California-Irvine (76 points) commence the new year in a tie at No. 6 in a departure from their No. 7 and 8 final slots in the final 2018 balloting.

University of the Pacific (74 points), the University of Michigan (72 points) and the University of California-Davis (64 points) conclude the upper-echelon of the Top 25 with the trio assuming the No. 8-to-10 positions, respectively.

Long Beach State University (54 points), Princeton University (52 points), Indiana University (50 points), Wagner College (48 points) and the University of California-San Diego (47 points) rate at No. 11-to-15, while Loyola Marymount University (44 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (37 points), California State University-Northridge (27 points), San Diego State University (26 points) and San Jose State University (25 points) comprise positions No. 16-to-20.

The final five slots in the inaugural Top 25 of 2019 belong to the quintet of Harvard University (23 points), Marist College (14 points), Bucknell University (13 points), California Baptist University (10 points) and Brown University (5 points).

2019 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason)

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will begin the 2019 season where the Sagehens concluded the 2018 campaign – as the No. 1-ranked team in Division III – by topping the Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Preseason Poll.

The Sagehens (99 points) fall one vote shy of ranking as the unanimous top Division III team in the land as California Lutheran University (94 points) garnered a first-place nod.  Cal Lutheran rates at No. 2 with the duo of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (87 points) and Whittier College (87 points) tying at No. 3. Chapman University (81 points) completes the Top Five.

The University of Redlands (73 points), the University of La Verne (72 points), Macalester College (64 points), Occidental College (62 points) and Connecticut College (33 points) complete the Top 10.

2019 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 (Preseason)

Defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion the University of Michigan enters the 2019 season as the favorite as the Wolverines are a unanimous top pick in the Women’s Varsity CWPA Top 10 Poll.

Michigan (100 points) holds a commanding nine-point lead over preseason No. 2 Harvard University (91 points) and a 10-point advantage compared to 2018 CWPA runner-up/No. 3 Princeton University (90 points).

Bucknell University (85 points) and Brown University (83 points) complete the Top Five, with the quintet of George Washington University (76 points), Saint Francis University (69 points), Macalester College (53 points), Connecticut College (47 points) and Carthage College (34 points) accounting for the remainder of the Top 10.

2019 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Top 10 (Preseason)

Macalester College, which captured the 2017 and 2018 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships, will once again begin a season as the hunted thanks to rating at No. 1 in the CWPA Division III Top Five Poll.

Macalester (99 points), which joined Grove City College (2010-2012) and Connecticut College (2013-2016) as the sole teams to ever claim the CWPA Division III league crown, will need to hold off challenges from Connecticut  (93 points), Carthage College (92 points) and five-time (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) league runner-up Washington & Jefferson College (85 points) to bring another league title back to Saint Paul, Minn.

Monmouth College (65 points) completes the Top Five.