BRIDGEPORT, Pa. (October 8, 2008) – The University of Southern California, Princeton University and the University of Redlands remain No. 1 in national polls as the National Varsity Top 20, Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 and Division III Top 10 polls were released by the Collegiate Water Polo Association league office.
In the Varsity Top 20 poll, USC held onto the top spot for another week after claiming the No. 1 ranking two weeks ago for the first time since November 28 of 2007. Unlike last week when the Trojans garnered 100 points but were not a unanimous choice as the top team in the nation, USC received each of the No. 1 votes this week to become the uncontested best team in the land.
Overall, the top six teams in the nation remained the same as the University of California-Los Angeles, Stanford University, Pepperdine University, the University of California-Berkeley and Loyola Marymount University stayed at No. 2 through 6, respectively.
Although the Top 10 teams in the nation remained the same, the No. 7 through 10 positions saw some shifting as the University of California-Santa Barbara jumped two spots to No. 7, the University of California-Irvine held firm at No. 8, the University of California-San Diego inched up one place to No. 9 and Long Beach State University fell three places to No. 10.
No. 11 through 20 also saw some changes as the University of California-Davis, Saint Francis College (N.Y.), Princeton University, Brown University and the United States Air Force Academy rose to No. 14, 15, 18 and 19, respectively.
| 2008 Varsity Top 20 (October 8) |
| Rank | Team | October 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Southern California | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California, Los Angeles | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Pepperdine University | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | University of California, Berkeley | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | Loyola Marymount University | 6 | 76 |
| 7 | University of California, Santa Barbara | 9 | 70 |
| 8 | University of California, Irvine | 8 | 64 |
| 9 | University of California, San Diego | 10 | 61 |
| 10 | Long Beach State University | 7 | 57 |
| 11 | University of the Pacific | 11 | 48 |
| 12 | Santa Clara University | 12 | 45 |
| 13 | University of California, Davis | 14 | 38 |
| 14 | Saint Francis College (N.Y.) | 13 | 35 |
| 15 | Princeton University | 16 | 31 |
| 16 | University of Redlands | 15 | 27 |
| 17 | United States Naval Academy | 17 | 22 |
| 18 | Brown University | 19 | 13 |
| 19 | United States Air Force Academy | 20 | 8 |
| 20 | California Baptist University | 18 | 6 |
| RV | Bucknell University | NR | 3 |
| RV | Johns Hopkins University | NR | 3 |
The University of Redlands continued its domination of the Division III ranks for another week as the Bulldogs held firm as a unanimous No. 1 selection in the October 8 Division III poll. Johns Hopkins University stayed at No. 2 for another week with 95 points, while California Lutheran University moved up one place to third this week.
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges slipped to fourth, Chapman University moved up to fifth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology fell back to sixth, Occidental College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges stayed at seventh and eighth, Whittier College moved up to ninth and the University of California-Santa Cruz slipped to 10th.
| 2008 Division III Poll (October 8) |
| Rank | Team | October 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of Redlands | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | California Lutheran University | 4 | 86 |
| 4 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 3 | 85 |
| 5 | Chapman University | 6 | 83 |
| 6 | MIT | 5 | 73 |
| 7 | Occidental College | 7 | 69 |
| 8 | Claremont Mudd Scripps Colleges | 8 | 68 |
| 9 | Whittier College | 10 | 48 |
| 10 | University of California, Santa Cruz | 9 | 45 |
| RV | University of LaVerne | NR | 23 |
Princeton University held onto the No. 1 ranking in the October 8 Collegiate Water Polo Association after taking over the top spot in the October 1 poll.
The top five places in the poll remain unchanged as Saint Francis College (N.Y.), Brown University, the United States Naval Academy and Bucknell University remained in the top half of the poll.
Johns Hopkins University climbed to sixth, George Washington University slipped to seventh, Mercyhurst College inched to eighth, Iona College fell back to ninth and Harvard University climbed out of the "receiving votes" ranks to take over 10th place and round out the poll.
| 2008 CWPA Poll (October 8) |
| Rank | Team | October 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | Saint Francis College (N.Y.) | 2 | 94 |
| 3 | Brown University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | United States Naval Academy | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | Bucknell University | 5 | 79 |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins University | 7 | 74 |
| 7 | George Washington University | 6 | 72 |
| 8 | Mercyhurst College | 9 | 60 |
| 9 | Iona College | 8 | 50 |
| 10 | Harvard University | RV | 46 |
| RV | MIT | 10 | 24 |
The Varsity Top 20, CWPA and Division III polls will be released each Wednesday during the season by 5:00 p.m.
