CWPA Releases February 17 Women's Varsity Coaches' Polls; Stanford Holds at No. 1

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Stanford University, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Michigan and Washington & Jefferson College maintain their No. 1 rankings from the preseason, January 27, February 3 and 10 polls as the Cardinal, Sagehens, Wolverines and Presidents topped the Week 4 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 maintains its grip on the No. 1 position in the Women's Varsity Coaches' Top 20 poll. as the Cardinal received 100 points to rank as a unanimous top selection for the second consecutive week.

The team has ranked No. 1 for five straight weeks dating back to and including the preseason poll as Stanford remains undefeated to lead the national water polo scene.

Overall, the top eight positions in the poll remain unchanged as the University of Southern California, University of California, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Michigan, University of Hawaii, Loyola Marymount University and Arizona State University rank No. 2-8, respectively, for another week.

Due to a loss by former No. 9 Hartwick College to California State University-Northridge last week, the final two positions of the Top 10 experienced an adjustment as CSU-Northridge moved up four positions to No. 9 with San Jose State University improving one place to No. 10.

University of California-Irvine, Hartwick, San Diego State University, University of California-Santa Barbara and the University of California-Davis account for positions No. 11-15, while University of the Pacific, Indiana University, Brown University, California State University-East Bay and Princeton University rank No. 16-20.

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll

Another week, another No. 1 ranking for the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges as the Sagehens received 99 points to outdistance California Lutheran University and hold on as the No. 1 team in the Week 4 Women's Varsity Coaches' Division III Top 10 Poll.

Although point totals changed to a minor degree, the Top 10 teams remain constant as University of Redlands, Occidental College, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Chapman University, Whittier College, Washington & Jefferson College, Grove City College and Macalester College held firm at No. 3-10 behind Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran.

Overall, the only change in the poll occurred at No. 8-9 as Grove City moved up to tie the Presidents of W&J for the No. 8 position.

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) received 100 points to rank as a unanimous selection for a third week as the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Coaches' Poll.

Michigan, which was tied with Hartwick College in the CWPA Preseason Poll with 98 points, took over sole possession of the position in the January 27 poll.

Indiana University and Brown University held onto the No. 3 and 4 positions, respectively, for another week, while the Princeton University climbed past the University of Maryland to take over the No. 5 spot in the poll.

Harvard University, Bucknell University, Gannon University and Mercyhurst College complete the poll holding down the No. 7-10 positions.

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 100 points to rank No. 1 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Coaches' Division III Top 5 Poll for a fifth consecutive week.

W&J is followed by Grove City College, Macalester College, Carthage College (Ill.), and Wheaton College (Ill.) as the Top 5. 

Comprised of Carthage, Chatham University, Connecticut College, Grove City, Macalester, Penn State University-Behrend, Utica College, 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.