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Stanford & Occidental Continue at No. 1 in Week 8 Women's Varsity National Polls
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The top teams in the nation remain the same as Stanford University and Occidental College held onto their No. 1 preseason national rankings for an eighth week in a row to top the Women's Varsity Top 20 and Division III Top 10 polls released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. In the CWPA polls, defending conference champion the University of Michigan and Grove City College continue to rate No. 1 in the league's Division I and Division III 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 Varsity Top 20, Division III Top 10 and Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 polls are released on Wednesday during the season until the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
Women's Varsity Top 20
Stanford University remains a unanimous selection
at No. 1 in the nation as the Cardinal garnered 100 points to
remain unchallenged in the March 16 Women's Varsity Top 20
Poll.
Ranked No. 1 in the preseason (98 points), and the first two polls of the regular season (99 points), the Cardinal clinched a unanimous spot on top of the poll five weeks ago and remain the consensus pick as the top program in the nation.
The first eight positions in the poll underwent cosmetic changes as the University of California and University of Southern California remain at No. 2 and 3, respectively, while the University of California-Los Angeles holds on at No. 4 after tying with No. 5 the University of Hawaii at the fourth spot a week ago.
Loyola Marymount University stays at No. 6, with the University of Michigan repeating UCLA's feat by remaining at No. 7 after tying with No. 8 Arizona State University at No. 7 last week. San Jose State University is the first time to move up in the rankings as the squad improved one place to No. 9, with Long Beach State University cracking the Top 10 at No. 10 this week.
San Diego State University falls out of the Top 10 to No. 11 to start the final 10 spots in the poll. The University of California-Irvine remains at No. 12, Indiana University jumps four spots to No. 13, while the University of California-Santa Barbara and Hartwick College slip back to take over at No. 14 and 15 in the wake of the Hoosiers' ascension.
The University of California-Davis and California State Univeristy-Northridge continue the trend as both fell back one place to No. 16 and 17. University of the Pacific and Princeton University improve into a tie at No. 18, with Iona College rounding out the Top 20.
Colorado State University, California State University-East Bay, University of California-San Diego, California Baptist University and Harvard University complete the teams which received votes.
2011 Varsity Top 20 (Week 8 - March 16) |
|||
Rank |
Team |
March 9 Poll |
Points |
| 1 | Stanford University |
1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Southern
California |
3 | 91 |
| 4 |
University of Californi, Los
Angeles |
4 (T) |
85 |
| 5 |
University of Hawaii |
4 (T) | 80 |
| 6 | Loyola Marymount University |
6 | 75 |
| 7 |
University of Michigan |
7 (T) |
68 |
| 8 |
Arizona State University |
7 (T) | 67 |
| 9 |
San Jose State University |
10 | 61 |
| 10 |
Long Beach State University |
11 | 51 |
| 11 | San Diego State University |
9 | 50 |
| 12 |
University of California,
Irvine |
12 |
43 |
| 13 |
Indiana University |
17 | 42 |
| 14 | University of California, Santa
Barbara |
13 | 34 |
| 15 | Hartwick College |
14 | 32 |
| 16 | University of California, Davis |
15 | 28 |
| 17 | California State University,
Northridge |
16 | 21 |
| 18 (T) |
University of the Pacific |
20 | 10 |
| 18 (T) |
Princeton University |
RV | 10 |
| 20 | Iona College |
RV | 5 |
| RV | Colorado State University |
RV | 3 |
| RV | California State University, East
Bay |
RV | 2 |
| RV | University of California, San
Diego |
18 | 2 |
| RV | California Baptist University |
RV | 1 |
| RV | Harvard University |
NR | 1 |
Women's Varsity Division III Top 10
The Division III Top 10 poll underwent minor changes this
week behind continually No. 1 ranked Occidental
College.
Occidental, which has held the No. 1 ranking since the preseason poll, saw its lead dwindle to two points in front of the University of Redlands (98-to-96) for the top spot in the Division III rankings.
The first seven spots in the poll
remain unchanged as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Colleges, California Lutheran University,
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Whittier
College and Chapman University continue
to hold a grip on the No. 3-7 spots in the weekly
rankings.
The only change in the poll is at No. 8 as Grove City College moved into a tie with previously No. 8-ranked Univeristy of La Verne.
Carthage College completes the poll for another week as the squad retained its position at No. 10.
2011 Division III Poll (Week 8 - March 16) |
|||
| Rank | Team | March 9 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Occidental
College |
1 | 98 |
| 2 | University of
Redlands |
2 | 96 |
| 3 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges |
3 |
88 |
| 4
(T) |
California Lutheran
University |
4
(T) |
85 |
| 4 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer
Colleges |
4
(T) |
85 |
| 6 | Whittier College |
6 | 74 |
| 7 | Chapman
University |
7 | 71 |
| 8
(T) |
University of La
Verne |
8 | 61 |
| 8
(T) |
Grove City
College |
9 |
61 |
| 10 |
Carthage College |
10 | 47 |
| RV | Macalester
College |
NR | 12 |
Women's Varsity CWPA Division I Top 10
The University of Michigan continues to stand on
top of the league poll as the three-time defending CWPA Eastern
Champions are a unanimous selection once again for the top position
in the CWPA Division I Poll.
Behind the Wolverines, Hartwick College and Indiana University continue at No. 2 and 3, respectively, as all eight teams ranked in the March 9 poll retained their positions in this week's balloting.
The lone change in the poll comes at No. 4 as Princeton University inched in front of the University of Maryland by a single point (83-to-82) to drop the Terrapins back to No. 5.
At No. 6-10, the rankings remain consistent with the March 9 balloting as Harvard University, Mercyhurst College, George Washington University, Brown University and Bucknell University remain at their previous positions.
2011 CWPA Division I Poll (Week 8 - March 16) |
|||
| Rank | Team | March 9 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
University of Michigan |
1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Hartwick College |
2 |
93 |
| 3 |
Indiana University |
3 |
92 |
| 4 | Princeton University |
5 | 83 |
| 5 | University of Maryland |
4 | 82 |
| 6 | Harvard University |
6 | 75 |
| 7 |
Mercyhurst College |
7 | 70 |
| 8 |
George Washington University |
8 |
65 |
| 9 |
Brown University |
9 |
60 |
| 10 |
Bucknell University |
10 |
55 |
Women's Varsity CWPA Division III Top 5
Defending conference champion Grove City College
remains at No. 1 in the CWPA Division III standings as the team
earned 98 points to edge out Carthage College in
one of the closest league polls of the season.
Grove City, which defeated Carthage College 8-7 to win the first-ever Division III Eastern Championship last season following the split of the women's CWPA varsity teams into Division and Division III brackets, saw its lead over Carthage dwindle to a three points (98-to-95).
Carthage, which has not competed in league competition to date this season, remains in front of Washington & Jefferson College, Wheaton College and Chatham University as all five teams ranked in the March 9 poll held on for another week.
2011 CWPA Division III Poll (Week 8 - March 16) |
|||
| Rank | Team | March 9 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Grove City College |
1 | 98 |
| 2 | Carthage College | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Washington & Jefferson
College |
3 | 89 |
| 4 | Wheaton College |
4 | 87 |
| 5 | Chatham University |
5 | 65 |
| RV | Macalester College | RV | 16 |





