Week 1 Women's Varsity Polls Released; Stanford Holds onto No. 1 Ranking

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Stanford University, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Michigan and Washington & Jefferson College maintain their No. 1 rankings from the preseason polls as the Cardinal, Sagehens, Wolverines and Presidents topped the Week 1 Women's Varsity Top 20, Division III Top 10, CWPA Division I Top 10 and CWPA Division III Top 5 polls released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Voted on by a panel of coaches and administrators from around the country during the preseason and each week of the season based on the cumulative results of each team, the polls are released each Wednesday during the season until the Wednesday following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll

Stanford University received 99 votes to hold onto its preseason No. 1 ranking and outdistance No. 2-ranked the University of Southern California by two points to rank No. 1 in the Week 1 Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll.

Overall, all 10 of the teams ranked in the Top 10 last week stayed in the exclusive territory one week into the 2010 season.

The University of Hawaii and University of California both move up one place this week taking over the No. 3 and 4 positions, respectively, while defending National Champion the University of California-Los Angeles, which fell to previously No. 7-ranked San Diego State University and defeated previously No. 10 the University of Michigan last week while ranked No. 3 in the nation, slips to No. 5.

Michigan and San Diego State both garnered 72 points this week to tie for the sixth position in the poll.  Michigan's ranking marks the highest by an East Coast team since the NCAA began a championship in the sport during the 2001 season, erasing the previous best of seventh established by the Wolverines in two previous polls (April 21, 2004 / May 13, 2009).

San Jose State University slips to eighth this week, followed by the University of California-Irvine and Arizona State University to account for the Top 10.

Loyola Marymount University stays at No. 11 for another week, while Hartwick College, California State University-Northridge, University of California-Davis and University of California-Santa Barbara rank No. 11-15, respectively.

Long Beach State University, California State University-Bakersfield, Indiana University, Santa Clara University and University of Maryland finish the poll at No. 16-20 as 19 of the 20 teams ranked last week remained in the Top 20 through the first week of competition.

The lone team to drop out of the Top 20 was Brown University as the previously No. 20-ranked Bears were edged out for the 20th position by Maryland by one point.

Princeton University and Marist College join Brown in the others receiving votes category as the Tigers and Red Foxes both garnered one point.

2010 Varsity Top 20 (Week 1 - January 27)

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges continues to lead the small college ranks as the Sagehens received 99 points to outdistance California Lutheran University and hold onto the rank as the No. 1 team in the Week 1 Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.

The University of Redlands was one of only two teams to improve their position this week surpassing former No. 3-ranked Occidental College. 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges remains at No. 5 for another week, while Chapman College jumps to No. 6 with Whittier College, Washington & Jefferson College, Grove City College and Macalester College accounting for the No. 7-10 positions.  University of La Verne rounds out the poll receiving 39 votes to miss out on the Top 10 this week.

Women's Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Poll

Four-time Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern champion the University of Michigan (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009) is a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the Week 1 CWPA Division I Poll.

Michigan, which was tied with Hartwick College in the CWPA Preseason Poll with 98 points, took over sole possession of the position thanks to a victory over then No. 7-nationally ranked San Diego State University during the Michigan Kick-Off Tournament last weekend.

Behind the Wolverines, Hartwick slips to No. 2 this week with 95 points, while Indiana University, which also competed at the Michigan Kick-Off Tournament, climbs to No. 3 and knocks Brown University back to No. 4.

Princeton University and the University of Maryland stay at No. 5-6, while Bucknell University inched in front of Harvard University for the No. 7 spot.  Gannon University climbs to No. 9 this week and George Washington University rounds out the poll at No. 10 in front of Mercyhurst College which received votes this week.

Women's Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Top 5 Poll

Washington & Jefferson College remains the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Tfield as the Presidents received 99 points to rank No. 1 in the Top 5 Poll.

Ranked No. 1 inaugural poll for the newly formed CWPA Division III grouping, W&J is follwed by Grove City College, Carthage College (Ill.), Macalester College and Wheaton College (Ill.) as the Top 5 in the poll remain unchanged from the preseason balloting.

Connecticut College, Chatham University and Penn State University-The Behrend also received votes.

Comprised of Carthage, Chatham, Connecticut College, Grove City, Macalester, PSU-Behrend, Utica, Washington & Jefferson and Wheaton, the nine-team organization will competie for a Division III Championship and a berth to the self-funded Division III National Collegiate Championship in May.

The change marks the first time an NCAA conference has divided its membership based on institutional affiliation without an NCAA Division II or III championship in the sport.  Women's water polo, which is an NCAA non-divisional sport, features only one championship event with five automatic qualifiers from the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), along with three at-large selections from among the remaining eligible conference and independent teams.