Few Changes In Varsity Poll With UCLA Holding Top Position

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The University of California-Los Angelesremains at No. 1 in the nation, while Johns Hopkins Universitygains company from Whittier College in Division III andPrinceton University clings to the top spot in the league rankings as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2015 Men's Varsity Week 2/September 16 National Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Top 10 Polls.

Unlike last week in which UCLA was a unanimous No. 1 selection, the Bruins are no longer the consensus top team in the nation after two weeks of competition.  In Division III, the East Coast and West Coast can now both lay claim to the No. 1 team in the land as the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins, who ranked at No. 1 last week, and the Poets of Whittier, who topped the Preseason ranking, now share the preeminent position in the division.  Finally, the Tigers of Princeton become the unanimous top team in the CWPA as the Tigers pick up 100 points.

Voted on by a panel of coaches from the CWPA, Western Water Polo Association (WWPA), MPSF, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the polls will be compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

2015 MEN'S VARSITY NATIONAL TOP 20 (WEEK 2/SEPTEMBER 16)

The 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion Bruins of the University of California-Los Angeles retain the No. 1 position in the 2015 Week 2/September 16 National Top 20 Poll.

However, unlike last week in which the Bruins (99 points) were a consensus top pick with a perfect 100 points, UCLA falls off the pedastal but retains top billing.

The University of Southern California (95 points), the University of California (90 points),Stanford University (86 points) and the University of the Pacific (82 points) hold firm behind UCLA at No. 2-to-5, respectively, after garnering the spots in the Preseason and Week 1 Top 20 Polls.

Change is not much of an occurrence in the Top 10 as the University of California-Santa Barbara (74 points), Long Beach State University (69 points) and the University of California-Irvine (62 points) hang on at No. 6-to-8, respectively, as the Top Eight teams in the nation remain unchanged from the Week 1 voting.

The first change comes at No. 9 as Pepperdine University (56 points) inches up one position, while former No. 9 the University of California-San Diego (53 points) drops into a tie with former No. 12 the University of California-Davis (53 points) at No. 10 as 11 teams rate among the Top 10 squads in the nation.

Due to UC-Davis' rise into the Top 10, the No. 12-to-14 positions experience change as Princeton University (49 points) slides one spot to No. 12 with Brown University (32 points) holding its ground at No. 13 to tie with first-year program San Jose State University (32 points) for the slot through two weeks of varsity competition.

Consistency returns to the Top 20 over the remainder of the rankings as the United States Naval Academy (28 points),  the United States Air Force Academy (25 points) and Bucknell University (20 points) remaining at No. 15-to-17.

The Division III duo of Johns Hopkins University (11 points) and Whittier College (8 points) shatter a tie at No. 18 from last week to stand at No. 18 and 19 this week, while fellow small college the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (5 points) and California Baptist University (5 points) round out the Top 20 in a tie for the final position.

Outside the Top 20, six schools received one or more votes as a total of 27 institutions garnered notice in the Week 2 poll.

 

2015 MEN'S VARSITY DIVISION III TOP 10 (WEEK 2/SEPTEMBER 16)

Dodgers-Yankees. Giants-49ers. Lakers-Knicks. The East Coast and West Coast continues a long rivalry as the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University (97 points) and the Poets of Whittier College (97 points), which ranked at No. 1 in the Division III Poll in Week 1 and the Preseason, respectively, now stand shoulder-to-shoulder as the squads are tied for the top spot in the Week 2/September 16 National Division III Top 10 Poll.

JHU, which dislodged the reigning Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champion Poets for the No. 1 slot last week, and Whittier, which also ranked at No. 1 in the final 2014 poll, lead a Division III Top 10 which experienced minor changes in the Top Five prior to significant shifts in the No. 6-to-10 spots.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (87 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (86 points) hold on at No. 3 and 4, respectively, while former No. 5 the University of Redlands (79 points) acquires company in the upper half of the Top 10 as Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (79 points) moves into a tie with the Bulldogs at No. 5.

The University of La Verne (64 points) moves up to No. 7 and Chapman University (55 points) slides to No. 8 with California Lutheran University (48 points) and Occidental College (45 points) rounding out the Top 10 at No. 9 and 10.

Washington & Jefferson College (25 points) and Connecticut College (13 points) also received votes.