USC, Whittier & Princeton Finish 2009 Season On Top of December 9 Men's Varsity Polls

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of Southern California, Whittier College and Princeton University concluded the 2009 men's collegiate varsity water polo season ranked No. 1 in the country as the Trojans top the National Top 20 poll, while Whittier and Princeton lead the Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 polls released by the CWPA league office earlier today.

Voted on by a panel of coaches and administrators from around the country during each week of the season and based on the cumulative results of each team, the Varsity Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 polls are released each Wednesday during the season until the Wednesday following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

Men's Top 20 Varsity Poll

University of Southern California, which captured the 2009 Men's NCAA Championship over the weekend with a 7-6 victory over the University of California-Los Angeles returns to sole possession of the No. 1 ranking in the country as a unanimous top pick by the nation's pollsters.

The Trojans victory over UCLA in the national title game marked the first time two teams ranked No. 1 met for the title as USC and UCLA shared the No. 1 ranking in the December 2 Poll.

USCs ranking marks the ninth consecutive week, and 11th overall, the Trojans have held the top spot as the team was previously ranked No. 1 in the Preseason, September 9, September 16, October 14, October 21, October 28, November 4, November 11, November, November 25 and December 2 polls.

UCLA slips back to No. 2 this week, while the University of California, Stanford University and University of California-Irvine held firm at No. 3-5, respectively.

Due to a loss by former No. 6 Loyola Marymount University to Princeton University in the NCAA Third Place game, there is a shakeup in the back five of the Top 10 as Pepperdine University improved to No. 6, University of California-Santa Barbara held on at No. 7, Long Beach State University moved to No. 8, Loyola Marymount fell to No. 9 and Princeton jumped three spots to finish the year at No. 10.

University of California-San Diego, Concordia University (Calif.), University of the Pacific, Santa Clara University and the United States Naval Academy comprise No. 11-15, while University of California-Davis, the United States Air Force Academy, St. Francis College (N.Y.), California Baptist University and Bucknell University finish the year at No. 16-20.

Men's Division III Top 10 Poll

Whittier College concludes the year at No. 1 in the Division III Poll as the Poets garnered 97 points to edge out the University of Redlands, which finishes second in the nation, by a single point.

Overall, Redlands earned 96 points to fall just short of tying the Poets for the No. 1 position in the small college poll. 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Johns Hopkins University conclude the season tied for third in the poll, while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Chapman University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Lutheran University, Occidental College and Washington & Jefferson College complete the Top 10 as the No. 5-10 positions in the balloting remain unchanged from the December 2 poll.

Men's Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 Poll

Princeton University concludes the year as  the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association as the league champion Tigers garnered 100 points to rank as a unanimous selection for another week.

It marks the fifth week Princeton has ranked No. 1 in the CWPA as the Tigers previously rated No. 1 in the October 7, October 14, November 25 and December 2 polls.

The Top Eight positions in the poll mirror the order of finish at the Eastern Championship as Navy, Bucknell University, Johns Hopkins University, Fordham University, Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Iona College are followed by George Washington University and Harvard University to account for the Top 10 teams in the league.