BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2026 Week 9/March 18 Women’s Varsity National Top 25, Division III Top 10, CWPA Top Five and CWPA Division III Top Five Polls.
Stanford University, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Augustana College and the University of Michigan remain in the lead positions of the National Top 25, Division III Top 10, CWPA Top Five and CWPA Division III Top Five rankings.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from around the country based on the cumulative results of the season, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during the season.
2026 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 (Week 9)
Defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Stanford University continues at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 9/March 18 Women’s Varsity National Top 25 Poll.
The Cardinal (100 points), the University of California-Los Angeles (96 points), the University of Southern California (92 points) and the University of California (88 points) remain the Top Four teams in the nation., while the University of Hawaii (83 points) breaks a tie at No. 5 with Arizona State University (81 points) to gain sole control of the position.
Arizona State, Loyola Marymount University (75 points) and Long Beach State University (73 points) stand at No. 6-to-8 with the University of California-Irvine (64 points) and the University of Michigan (63 points) moving up to No. 9 and 10, respectively.
Harvard University (62 points) takes over at No. 11 and Indiana University (51 points) slips to No. 12 before the trio of Fresno State University (44 points), San Diego State University (44 points) and the University of California-San Diego (44 points) share the No. 13 berth.
Princeton University (43 points), the University of California-Davis (41 points) and Marist University (40 points) drop to No. 16-to-18, University of the Pacific (30 points) ascends to No. 19, San Jose State University (26 points) and Wagner College (22 points) rate at No. 20 and 21 prior to Brown University (18 points) hanging on at No. 22 for another seven-day run.
California Baptist University (12 points), Villanova University (8 points) and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (4 points) complete the Top 25.
2026 Women’s Varsity Top 25 (Week 9/March 18)
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| Rank | Team | Week 8 Poll |
Points |
| 1 |
Stanford University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
University of California-Los Angeles | 2 | 96 |
| 3 |
University of Southern California | 3 | 92 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 88 |
| 5 | University of Hawaii | 5 (T) | 83 |
| 6 | Arizona State University | 5 (T) | 81 |
| 7 | Loyola Marymount University |
7 | 75 |
| 8 | Long Beach State University |
8 | 73 |
| 9 | University of California-Irvine | 10 | 64 |
| 10 | University of Michigan | 11 | 63 |
| 11 | Harvard University | 12 (T) | 62 |
| 12 | Indiana University | 9 | 51 |
| 13 (T) | University of California-San Diego | 16 | 44 |
| 13 (T) | San Diego State University | 19 | 44 |
| 13 (T) | Fresno State University | 12 (T) | 44 |
| 16 | Princeton University | 14 | 43 |
| 17 |
University of California-Davis | 15 | 41 |
| 18 |
Marist University | 17 | 40 |
| 19 | University of the Pacific | 21 | 30 |
| 20 | San Jose State University | 18 | 26 |
| 21 | Wagner College | 20 | 22 |
| 22 |
Brown University | 22 | 18 |
| 23 |
California Baptist University | 23 | 12 |
| 24 |
Villanova University | 25 (T) | 8 |
| 25 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 24 | 4 |
| RV | California State University-Northridge | 25 (T) | 1 |
2026 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 9)
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges remains the dominant force in Division III as the Sagehens stay at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 9/March 18 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The Sagehens (100 points), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (95 points), California Lutheran University (90 points), Chapman University (84 points) and Augustana College (81 points) retain the No. 1-to-5 positions with Macalester College (72 points) and Whittier College (69 points) elevating to No. 6 and 7.
Occidental College (66 points) and the University of Redlands (50 points) come in at No. 8 and 9 prior to Austin College (34 points) and Carthage College (34 points) tying at No. 10.
2026 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 9/March 18)
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| Rank | Team | Week 8 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 95 |
| 3 |
California Lutheran University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 | Chapman University |
4 | 84 |
| 5 |
Augustana College | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | Macalester College | 9 | 72 |
| 7 |
Whittier College |
8 | 69 |
| 8 | Occidental College |
6 | 66 |
| 9 | University of Redlands | RV | 50 |
| 10 (T) | Carthage College | NR | 34 |
| 10 (T) | Austin College | 7 | 34 |
2026 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 5 (Week 9)
The University of Michigan maintains its status as the league’s top team in the 2026 Week 9/March 18 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I Top Five Poll.
The 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 league champion Wolverines (100 points) remain a unanimous top choice to remain in front of 2025 CWPA Champion Harvard University (94 points) and 2000, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2023 and 2024 league champion Princeton University (91 points).
Brown University (85 points) and Bucknell University (80 points) again complete the Top Five.
2026 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 5 (Week 9/March 18)
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| Rank | Team | Week 8 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | University of Michigan | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Harvard University | 2 | 94 |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | Brown University |
4 | 85 |
| 5 | Bucknell University |
5 |
80 |
2026 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Top 5 (Week 9)
The Week 9/March 18 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Top Five poll experiences significant shake-ups following a CWPA Division III-West Region tournament over the weekend.
Defending CWPA Division III Champion Augustana College (100 points) marches on as a unanimous top selection, but the remainder of the Top Five is in flux.
Macalester College (94 points) and Carthage College (90 points) both improve one place to assume the No. 2 and 3 positions, Austin College (86 points) drops back to No. 4 and Washington & Jefferson College (48 points) stays at No. 5.
2026 Women’s Varsity Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Top 5 (Week 9/March 18)
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| Rank | Team | Week 8 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | Augustana College |
1 | 100 |
| 2 | Macalester College |
3 | 94 |
| 3 | Carthage College | 4 | 90 |
| 4 | Austin College |
2 | 86 |
| 5 | Washington & Jefferson College |
5 | 48 |
| RV | Connecticut College |
RV | 16 |
| RV | Grove City College |
RV | 16 |
