BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Another week, another top-billing for the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) as the Bruins remain locked in as the No. 1 team in the nation as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2016 Week 5/October 5 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NEWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.
The two-time defending National Champion Bruins remain a unanimous top choice with 100 points this week, while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges retains the No. 1 spot in the Division III Top 10 rankings.
Exclusively on the “East Coast”, the Crimson of Harvard University reenter a tie with 2015 CWPA Champion Princeton University on top of the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five, while Bucknell University continues a stranglehold on the top spot of the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five.
Voted on by a panel of coaches from the MAWPC, NEWPC, Golden Coast Conference, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls will be compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2016 MEN’S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 5/OCTOBER 5)
The 2014 and 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) continue to roll through their competition as the team once again leads the 2016 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll through games of October 2.
The Top Seven positions in the balloting remain consistent as UCLA (100 points), theUniversity of California (95 points), the University of Southern California (90 points),University of the Pacific (85 points), Stanford University (80 points), Long Beach State University (73 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (68 points) hang on at No. 1-to-7, respectively.
Pepperdine University (59 points) moves up one place to take over at No. 8. The East Coast duo of Harvard University (55 points) and Bucknell University (55 points) fall and rise, respectively, to tie at No. 9 and round out the Top 10.
The University of California-Davis (49 points), the University of California-San Diego (46 points), Princeton University (44 points),Brown University (35 points) and California Baptist University (31 points) adjust to rate at No. 11-to-15, with George Washington University (27 points), the University of California-Irvine (24 points) and St. Francis College Brooklyn (10 points) taking over at No. 16-to-18.
A tie concludes the Top 20 as the United States Air Force Academy (8 points) and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (8 points) wrap-up the best teams in the nation per the voting coaches.
2016 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 5/October 5) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of the Pacific | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Stanford University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 73 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 7 | 68 |
| 8 | Pepperdine University | 9 | 59 |
| 9 (T) | Bucknell University | 10 (T) | 55 |
| 9 (T) | Harvard University | 8 | 55 |
| 11 | University of California-Davis | 10 (T) | 49 |
| 12 | University of California-San Diego | 12 | 46 |
| 13 | Princeton University | 14 | 44 |
| 14 | Brown University | 15 | 35 |
| 15 | California Baptist University | 16 | 31 |
| 16 | George Washington University | 17 | 27 |
| 17 | University of California-Irvine | 13 | 24 |
| 18 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | RV | 10 |
| 19 (T) | United States Air Force Academy | 18 | 8 |
| 19 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 19 | 8 |
| RV | Santa Clara University | 20 | 7 |
| RV | Whittier College | RV | 3 |
| RV | San Jose State University | RV | 2 |
| RV | University of Redlands | NR | 2 |
2016 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 5/October 5) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 97 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | 4 | 92 |
| 3 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Whittier College | 2 | 89 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 (T) | Chapman University | 6 | 70 |
| 6 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 7 | 70 |
| 8 | University of La Verne | 9 | 59 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | 8 | 58 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 10 | 45 |
| RV | Connecticut College | RV | 13 |
| RV | Washington & Jefferson College | RV | 12 |
2016 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5/October 5) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Bucknell University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | George Washington University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Fordham University | 3 | 83 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 70 |
| 5 | Wagner College | RV | 68 |
| RV | Gannon University | RV | 18 |
| RV | Mercyhurst University | NR | 16 |
2016 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5/October 5) |
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| Rank | Team | Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 (T) | Harvard University | 1 | 96 |
| 1 (T) | Princeton University | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 93 |
| 4 | St. Francis College Brooklyn | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona College | RV | 64 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 16 |
Press release courtesy of the Collegiate Water Polo Association