BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Stanford University may have lost the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title to the University of California, but remains No. 1 in the May 4 Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) office.

The other three polls (Division III, Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I/II and Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III) continue the pattern of new blood among as the trio of polls new leaders as the University of Redlands, Indiana University and Grove City College claimed their respective championships.

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 the No. 1 selection in the nation as the Cardinal garnered 98 points to edge out Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion the University of California by a single point in the May 4 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 11 weeks ago and remained the consensus pick as the top program in the nation until this week.

Stanford finished third at this past weekend's MPSF Championship, suffering its first loss of the season in Saturday's semifinal against the University of California-Los Angeles (9-8 L) before rebounding to rout host San Jose State University, 15-5, Sunday afternoon to finish third in the league.

However, based on their body of work to date, the Cardinal will enter the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship in a week at the University of Michgian with an at-large bid and the No. 1 seed.  Fellow MPSF members Cal, UCLA and the University of Southern California also made the field claiming the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds.  The Big West Conference, which for the first time received an automatic bid this season, will be represented by No. 5 seed the University of California-Irvine. Indiana University, champion of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), received the No. 6 seed while Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) champion the University of California-San Diego will be the seventh seed. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion Iona College and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) champion the University of Redlands will appear in a play-in game to determine program earns the No. 8 seed for the tournament field.

Behind Stanford in this week's poll, Cal, UCLA and USC retained the No. 2-4 spots, respectively, while San Jose State climbs up two places to No. 5.  The University of Hawaii slips one position to No, 6, with the University of California-Irvine and Arizona State University progressing to No. 7 and 8.  San Diego State University holds on at No. 9 for another week, while Indiana breaks into the Top 10 to rate as the highest ranked East Coast institution.

The University of Michgian, which was ranked at No. 6 last week, falls to No. 11 in the May 4 poll following a 5-3 loss to Indiana in the CWPA Eastern Championship title game.  Loyola Marymount University joins the Wolverines in falling out of the Top 10 as LMU drops to No. 12, while Long Beach State University improves three places to No. 13.

Among teams that are breaking into the Top 20, the University of California-San Diego goes from receiving votes to No. 14.  The University of California-Davis moves up three spots to No. 15, Hartwick College drops four places to No. 16, with the University of Maryland improving to No. 17 behind the Hawks whom the Terrapins defeated 7-6 in the CWPA Eastern Championship third place contest.

California State University-Northridge, University of the Pacific and Iona complete the Top 20.

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10

There is a new dog on top of the pile this week as the University of Redlands, which captured the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 7-6 upset of top seed and former No. 1-ranked Occidental College, takes over as the No. 1 small college team in the nation in the May 4 Women's Varsity Division III Poll.

Occidental, which held the No. 1 ranking since the preseason poll, slips to No. 2 behind the unanimous top pick Redlands, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges drop to No. 3.

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Whittier College remain at No. 4 and 5, while the University of La Verne jumps three spots to No. 6.

California Lutheran University slides to No. 7, with Grove City College, Chapman University and Washington & Jefferson College rounding out the Top 10.

Women's Varsity CWPA Division I/II Top 10

For the first time since the 2007 season, a team other than the University of Michigan stands on top of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I/II rankings after the league's championship weekend as Indiana University used a 5-3 defeat of the Wolverines to take the 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship at home in Bloomington, Ind.

The victory rockets the Hoosiers to the top position as a unanimous selection in the May 4 league poll.

Behind Indiana,  the remainder of the Top 10 also reflects the outcome of the 2011 CWPA Eastern Championship as Michigan, the University of Maryland, Hartwick College, Princeton University, Harvard University, Bucknell University, George Washington University, Brown University and Mercyhurst College.

Women's Varsity CWPA Division III Top 5

The top team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Top 5 is once again Grove City College as the Wolverines captured the league title and returned to the top position in the May 4 CWPA Division III Top Five Poll for the first time since April 6.

Grove City, which captured the program's second CWPA Division III crown in as many years, was replaced on top of the league's rankings by Carthage College for three weeks (April 13, 20, 27) before regaining the No. 1 ranking.

Overall, the poll underwent dramatic changes as Washington & Jefferson College, which fell to Grove City 7-2 in the CWPA Division III title game, jumps up two spots to No. 2.  Wheaton College retains its position at No. 3, with Macalester College and Carthage College tying at No. 4.

The Lady Reds slip to No. 4 was due to Macalester as the No. 9 seed Scots upset No. 1 seed Carthage 11-10 at home during the Division III Eastern Championship over the weekend in St. Paul, Minn.