USC Returns to No. 1 in April 22 Women's National Varsity Top 20 Poll

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of Southern California regained the No. 1 ranking in the nation this week as the Trojans top the April 22 National Varsity Top 20 Poll. California Lutheran University held onto the No. 1 ranking in the Division III poll, and Hartwick College retook the top ranking in the CWPA.

The ranking snaps an eight week run by Stanford University as the top team in the nation and puts USC in the top position for the first time since the February 25 poll.

On February 25, Stanford knocked off then No. 1 USC 12-11 in sudden victory overtime to drop the Trojans from the No. 1 spot.  Two months later, the Trojans returned the favor defeating the Cardinal 11-6 to regain the No. 1 ranking and trop Stanford to No. 2.

The Top 10 poll experienced no changes at No. 3-8 as University of California-Los Angeles, University of Hawaii, University of California, San Jose State University, San Diego State University and Arizona State University held their positions.  University of California-Davis moved up one place to No. 9 and University of California-Irvine slipped to No. 10 to round out the Top 10 teams in the nation.

Loyola Marymount University, University of Michigan and California State University-Northridge held at No. 11-13, Hartwick College rose to No. 14, California State University-Bakersfield fell to No. 15, Indiana University and University of California-Santa Barbara jumped to No. 16 and 17, Long Beach State University slipped to No. 18, Brown University remained at No. 19 and University of Maryland moved into the Top 20 at No. 20.

California Lutheran University held onto the No. 1 ranking in the Division III poll as the poll experienced only one change this week.

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Occidental College, University of California-Santa Cruz, University of Redlands, California State University-East Bay, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Chapman College and Whittier College also held their No. 2-9 rankings, respectively, from last week, while Washington & Jefferson College took over the No. 10 spot after not receiving a vote in the April 15 poll.

The Collegiate Water Polo Association poll this week mirrors the league championship seedings for the upcoming Eastern Championship on April 24-26 at Harvard University with two exceptions.

Northern Division champion Hartwick College, which defeated the University of Michigan in head-to-head competition earlier in the yea, returns to the No. 1 ranking, while the Western Division champion Wolverines slip to No. 2.

Western Division runner-up Indiana University held onto the No. 3 ranking while Southern Division champion University of Maryland moved up two places to No. 4.  The ranking differs from the Eastern Championship seedings as Maryland and Indiana received the No. 3 and 4 positions in the tournament field.

Northern Division runner-up Brown University fell one place to No. 5 this week, with Southern Division runner-up Princeton University, Southern Division fourth-place finisher Bucknell University and Northern Division third-place finisher Harvard University rating at No. 6, 7 and 8, respectively.

The Princeton and Bucknell rankings are different than the Eastern seedings as the Bison received the sixth seed with Princeton following in seventh.

Southern Division third-place finisher George Washington University and Western Division third-place finisher Gannon University round out the Top 10.