CWPA Releases March 24 Women's Varsity Coaches' Polls; USC Remains at No. 1

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The University of Southern California is a unanimous selection at No. 1 for the fourth week in a row as the March 24 Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll was released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. In other rankings, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Michigan and Grove City College retain their No. 1 rankings in the Division III, CWPA and CWPA Division III Polls for another week.

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

The University of Southern California held onto the No. 1 ranking in the Varsity Top 20 Poll for a fourth week as the team garnered 100 points to rate as a unanimous top selection.

USC, which took over the No. 1 ranking  weeks ago on the heels of a six-week run by Stanford University as the No. 1 team in the country, is followed by Stanford which rates in the Top Two for the 10th consecutive week.

Overall, the Top 20 Poll is relatively unchanged for the second week in a row as the University of California, University of California-Los Angeles and University of Hawaii held onto their rankings at No. 3-5.  The first change is at No. 6 as San Jose State University used a victory over Arizona State University to trade positions with the Sun Devils and take over at No. 6 this week.  ASU drops back to No. 7, while the University of Michigan, Loyola Marymount University, California State University-Northridge, Hartwick College, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of California-Irvine, San Diego State University, University of California-Davis, Indiana University, University of the Pacific and California State University-Bakersfield held on at No. 8-18.

The final two positions in the poll also experienced change as Princeton University moves up one place to No. 19, with formally unranked the University of California-San Diego using a strong week to earn points and break into the Top 20.

Overall, 19 of the 20 teams ranked in the March 17 Poll remain in Top 20 following the March 24 balloting with only California State University-East Bay dropping out this week.

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges received 99 points to rank at No. 1 in the Week 9 Women's Varsity Coaches Division III Top 10 Poll.

The Sagehens, which held a two-point lead over second place California Lutheran University last week, saw the margin expand to four points this week.

The University of Redlands follows in third place, while Occidental College edged past Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to take over at No. 4 by a single point.

Whittier College remains at No. 6, with Grove City College improving to No. 7.  Chapman University, which was ranked No. 7 in the March 17 balloting, falls into a tie with Carthage College (Wisc.) for eight place with Wheaton College (Ill.) rounding out the Top 10.

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 as the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Coaches' Poll for an eighth week in a row.

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.

The poll experienced no changes this week as Michigan, Hartwick, Indiana University, Princeton University, Brown University, University of Maryland, Harvard University, Bucknell University, George Washington University and Mercyhurst College remain locked in at No. 1-10.

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

Grove City College maintains its position as the top-rated team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Divsion III ranks for a third week in a row as the Wolverines garnered 98 points to rank as the No. 1 pick in the CWPA Division III Top 5.

The Wolverines are followed by Carthage College (Wisc.) as only the top two positions in the poll remain the same from the March 17 selections.

Wheaton College (Ill.) moves up to No. 3 this week, with Washington & Jefferson College and Macalester College slipping two places and one spot, respectively, back to No. 4 and 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 competes for a Division III Championship in conference and a berth to the self-funded Division III National Collegiate Championship in May.