Stanford University tops the Women’s National Top 25 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 Preseason Polls released today by the CWPA.
The Cardinal, which finished second behind the University of Southern California (USC) last year at the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Water Polo Championship hosted by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), edges out USC and UCLA for top-billing to start the 2017 season as Stanford holds a narrow one-point lead over USC (98-to-97) and a five-point margin against UCLA (98-to-93).
Stanford is one of two teams which finished second in the final edition of a 2016 poll to move up to the top spot to start 2017. Washington & Jefferson College, which fell to host Connecticut College in the 2016 CWPA Division III title game, takes over the No. 1 position in the league’s Division III rankings to start the new campaign.
Whittier College (Division III Top 10) and the University of Michigan (CWPA Top 10), which topped the Division III and CWPA rankings last year will aim to defend their titles in 2017 as the Poets and Wolverines once again claim top honors in the balloting.
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 Varisty 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 (Preseason)
Stanford University, which fell to the University of Southern California (USC) by an 8-7 score in the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Water Polo National Championship title game at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), will look to avenge the loss in 2017 as the Cardinal will enter the season as the top-ranked team in the country per the Women’s Varsity National Top 25 Preseason Poll.
Stanford (98 points), which claimed the 2014 and 2015 National Championships prior to falling to USC in the quest for another crown, will need to overcome some familiar foes to capture another NCAA Championship trophy and return to the top of the women’s water polo heap post Olympic Games.
Defending National Champion USC (97 points) and UCLA (93 points), which stood at No. 1 and 3, respectively, at the conclusion of 2016, rate within striking distance of Stanford. However, the remainder of the National Top 25 experiences significant changes from the concluding voting for the 2016 season.
The University of California (86 points) improves on its finish from last year by two places in opening 2017 at No. 4, while Arizona State University (81 points) holds at No. 5 to account for an all Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Top Five.
The University of Hawaii (79 points) and the University of Michigan (78 points) fall into the No. 6 and 7 slots, respectively, with the University of California-Irvine (76 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (65 points) and the the University of California-San Diego (63 points) rounding out the Top 10 at No. 8-to-10.
Long Beach State University (52 points) takes over at No. 11 with Princeton University (51 points) and University of the Pacific (51 points) tying at No. 12. San Jose State University (50 points), San Diego State University (47 points), Indiana University (44 points), the University of California-Davis (40 points), Hartwick College (33 points), Harvard University (27 points) and Wagner College (25 points) complete the Top 20.
Loyola Marymount University (18 points), Bucknell University (17 points), California State University, Northridge (13 points), California Baptist University (13 points) and California State University, Bakersfield (4 points) finish out the Preseason Top 25.
2017 Varsity Top 25 (Preseason) |
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| Rank | Team | Final 2016 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Stanford University | 2 | 98 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | 1 | 97 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 93 |
| 4 | University of California | 6 | 86 |
| 5 | Arizona State University | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | University of Hawaii | 7 | 79 |
| 7 | University of Michigan | 4 | 78 |
| 8 | University of California-Irvine | 8 | 76 |
| 9 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 9 (T) | 65 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 9 (T) | 63 |
| 11 | Long Beach State University | 12 | 52 |
| 12 (T) | University of the Pacific | 15 | 51 |
| 12 (T) | Princeton University | 17 | 51 |
| 14 | San Jose State University | 11 | 50 |
| 15 | San Diego State University | 14 | 47 |
| 16 | Indiana University | 13 | 44 |
| 17 | University of California-Davis | 16 | 40 |
| 18 | Hartwick College | 19 | 33 |
| 19 | Harvard University | 20 (T) | 27 |
| 20 | Wagner College | 18 | 25 |
| 21 | Loyola Marymount University | 23 (T) | 18 |
| 22 | Bucknell University | 20 (T) | 17 |
| 23 | California State University, Northridge | 22 | 13 |
| 24 | California Baptist University | 23 (T) | 12 |
| 25 | California State University, Bakersfield | RV | 4 |
| RV | Marist College | 25 | 2 |
| RV | California State University, East Bay | NR | 1 |
2017 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason)
Whittier College will open the 2017 season where it concluded the 2016 campaign – at No. 1 – as the Poets top the Division III Top 10 Preseason Poll.
Whittier (97 points) possesses a two-point lead Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (95 points) as the Poets and Sagehens both claimed first-place votes in the preseason balloting. The University of La Verne (88 points) comes in third, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (82 points) rating at No. 4.
Chapman University (80 points) completes an All-California Top Five, while California Lutheran University (77 points) and the University of Redlands (73 points) continue the Golden State’s dominance in the early voting by ranking at No. 6 and 7, respectively.
Washington & Jefferson College (64 points) breaks up California’s run by holding the No. 8 position. Occidental College (59 points) and Connecticut College (37 points) complete the Top 10 at No. 9 and 10.
Carthage College (24 points) also received votes.
2017 Division III Top 10 (Preseason) |
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| Rank | Team | Final 2016 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Whittier College | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 3 | 95 |
| 3 | University of La Verne | 2 | 88 |
| 4 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 5 | 82 |
| 5 | Chapman University | 4 | 80 |
| 6 | California Lutheran University | 6 | 77 |
| 7 | University of Redlands | 7 | 73 |
| 8 | Washington & Jefferson College | 10 | 64 |
| 9 | Occidental College | 8 (T) | 59 |
| 10 | Connecticut College | 8 (T) | 37 |
| RV | Carthage College | NR | 24 |
2017 Women’s CWPA Top 10 (Preseason)
2016 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion the University of Michigan will open the 2017 season as the No. 1 selection in the CWPA Top 10 Preseason Poll.
A ranking of the league’s entire varsity membership (Division I/III), the outcome of the poll is significantly different as Princeton University (95 points) and Hartwick College (91 points) jump up to No. 2 and 3 with 2016 CWPA Championship runner-up Indiana University (84 points) claiming the No. 4 position in the preseason rankings.
Harvard University (81 points), Bucknell University (74 points), Brown University (73 points), George Washington University (65 points) and Washington & Jefferson College (55) rank at No. 5-to-9, respectively, with Connecticut College (48 points) completing the Top 10.
Saint Francis University (12 points), which joins the CWPA in 2017 to field a women’s program for the first time, also received votes.
2017 CWPA Poll (Preseason) |
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| Rank | Team | Final 2016 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Michigan | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | Princeton University | 3 | 95 |
| 3 | Hartwick College | 4 | 91 |
| 4 | Indiana University | 2 | 84 |
| 5 | Harvard University | 6 | 81 |
| 6 | Bucknell University | 5 | 74 |
| 7 | Brown University | 7 | 73 |
| 8 | George Washington University | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | Washington & Jefferson College | 10 | 55 |
| 10 | Connecticut College | 9 | 48 |
| RV | Saint Francis University (Pa.) | NR | 12 |
2017 Women’s CWPA Division III Top 5 (Preseason)
2014, 2015 and 2016 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship runner-up Washington & Jefferson College will open the 2017 season at No. 1 as the Presidents top the Preseason CWPA Division III Top Five Poll.
It marks the second season in a row the Presidents (96 points) will start a season ranked at No. 1 as W&J also led the Preseason 2016 CWPA Division III Poll.
Carthage College (95 points) comes in at No. 2 as the Lady Reds fall one point shy of tying Washington & Jefferson for the No. 1 spot. Four-time defending CWPA Division III Champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Connecticut College (89 points) falls into the No. 3 slot, with three-time CWPA Division III Champion (2010, 2011, 2012) Grove City College (88 points) assuming the No. 4 berth.
Penn State Behrend (50 points) rates at No. 5 and Monmouth College (32 points) receives votes to round out the six-ranked teams.
Celebrating its eighth season of competition, the CWPA Division III group is comprised of Carthage, Connecticut, Grove City, Macalester College, Monmouth, Penn State Behrend and Washington & Jefferson.
2017 CWPA Division III Poll (Preseason) |
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| Rank | Team | Final 2016 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Washington & Jefferson College | 2 | 96 |
| 2 | Carthage College | 3 | 95 |
| 3 | Connecticut College | 1 | 89 |
| 4 | Grove City College | 5 | 88 |
| 5 | Penn State Behrend | 4 | 50 |
| RV | Monmouth College | NR | 32 |
Press release courtesy of Collegiate Water Polo Association.
Christina O’Beck