National Champion USC Finishes the Season at No. 1 in May 19 Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- 2010 NCAA Champion the University of Southern California finishes the season at No. 1 as the team garnered 100 points to rank as a unanimous top selection in the May 19 and final Womens Varsity Top 20 Poll for the 2010 season. In other rankings, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Michigan and Carthage College wrap up the year No. 1 in the National Division III, CWPA Top 10 and CWPA Division III Top 5 polls, respectively.

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 concludes the 2010 season one spot better than its ranking in the preseason poll and with the National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) Championship trophy as the Trojans knocked off Stanford University 10-9 for the crown and garnered 100 points to rank as the unanimous No. 1 selection in the May 19 and final Women's Top 20 Varsity Poll.

It marks the 11th week USC ranked No. 1 during the year and the Trojans first women's water polo national championship since the 2004 season.

For the two prior polls, USC and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) champion the Unviersity of California-Los Angeles had shared the No. 1 ranking. The dual No. 1 rankings marked a historical milestone in collegiate sports as the Bruins and Trojans, who both qualified for the NCAA Championship at San Diego State University over the weekend, were also tied at No. 1 entering the 2009 Men's NCAA Championship.  At the men's championship hosted by Princeton University, USC defeated MPSF champion UCLA 7-6 to win the men's national championship.

This time, the Trojans knocked off Stanford, which moves up to No. 2 in this week's poll, while the University of California, Loyola Marymount University and UCLA round out the Top 5 teams in the final poll.  The University of Hawaii, University of Michigan and San Jose State University account for positions #6-8, with San Diego State University and the University of California-Irvine wrapping up the Top 10 by standing tied for the No. 9 position.

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges remains at the top spot in the final Division III National Top 10 Poll as the Sagehens garnered 100 points to remain a unanimous No. 1 pick.

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champion Sagehens are followed by Division III National tournament champion California Lutheran University, tournament runner-up Occidental College Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and the University of Redlands as the Top Five teams in the nation are from California for another week.

Carthage College, Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III champion Grove City College, Whittier College, Chapman University and Wheaton College round out the Top 10.

 Women's Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Poll

Five-time Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern champion the University of Michigan (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 200) received 100 points to conclude the year as a unanimous selection 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 and rolled to the program's third consecutive and fifth overall Eastern title to earn a bid to the 2010 NCAA Championship at San Diego State University this weekend.

The rankings reflect the final results of the 2010 Eastern Championship as Indiana University, Princeton University, Hartwick College, Bucknell University, Brown University, University of Maryland, Harvard University, George Washington University and Mercyhurst College rank No. 2-10, respectively.

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

Carthage College, which finished fourth at the National Collegiate III Championship at Macalester College, finishes the season with the No. 1 ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Top 5 poll.

The Lady Reds took over the No. 1 ranking last week to snap a nine-week run by CWPA Division III champion Grove City College as the No. 1 team in the league.

The remainder of the poll also remains constant from the May 12 balloting as Wheaton College (Ill.), Washington & Jefferson College and Connecticut College rate at No. 2-5.