April 8 Women's Varsity Polls Released; Hartwick, Occidental & Hartwick Top Nation

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Stanford University and Hartwick College retain their holds on the No. 1 rankings in the nation in the Varsity Top 20 and Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 10 polls, while Occidental College dislodged Pomona-Pitzer Colleges from the top spot in the Division III Top 10 in the April 8 Women's Varsity Polls released by the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

The ranking marks the seventh consecutive week Stanford has held the No. 1 spot in the Varsity Top 20 as the Cardinal took over the top-ranking from the University of Southern California in the February 25 poll.

Overall, the Top 9 positions in the poll did not change this week, while University of California-Davis and Loyola Marymount University, which were tied at No. 10 last week, split with Davis taking over sole possession of 10th and LMU dropping back to 11th.

California State University-Northridge jumped two places to No. 12, University of Michigan and Hartwick College moved into a tie at No. 13, California State University-Bakersfield improved on spot to No. 15, while Long Beach State University and University of California-Santa Barbara pulled even at No. 16.

Indiana University, Brown University and University of California-San Diego round out the Top 20 teams in the nation.

The only newcomer to a No. 1 ranking this week is Occidental College as the Tigers garnered 98 points to move up from No. 2 to the top spot in the Division III Poll.

Occidental's ascension to the top of Division III snaps a 12-week streak of success by Pomona-Pitzer Colleges this season as the Sagehens had been ranked No. 1 since the preseason poll. Overall, the ranking also breaks a 14-poll run by Pomona-Pitzer as the No. 1 team in Division dating back to April 30, 2008. The last team to rate as the top program in Division III before the Sagehens was California Lutheran University on April 23, 2008.

The change at the top of the poll caused a reaction in the No. 2-4 positions as Cal Lutheran, which was ranked No. 4 last week, jumped two places to No. 2 with 95 points, while Pomona-Pitzer slipped to third with 92 points. Former No. 3 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges also dropped back as the team fell to No. 4 with 83 points.

Unlike the top portion of the poll, the No. 5-10 slots remain unchanged as University of California-Santa Cruz, University of Redlands, Whittier College, Chapman College and Grove City College held firm for another week.

The Collegiate Water Polo Assocition Top 10 poll saw the gap between the No. 1 and 2 positions dramatically close this week as Hartwick College, which was a unanimous No. 1 choice a week ago, maintained its position by a single point (98-to-97) over the University of Michigan.

For Hartwick, which dropped an 8-7 OT decision to Brown University to snap a 92-game CWPA Northern Division winning streak, it marks the sixth week the Hawks have topped the Collegiate Water Polo Association rankings since knocking off former No. 1 Michigan by a 9-7 final on February 28 at the Elite Six Inviational hosted by Bucknell University.

The poll experienced radical changes among the top six positions as Indiana University, Brown University and Bucknell all climbed one place to No. 3-5, respectively. University of Maryland, which was No. 3 last week, dropped back to No. 6 in the aftermath of losses to Bucknell and Indiana over the weekend.

Princeton University, Harvard University and George Washington University remain stationary at No. 7, 8 and 10, while Mercyhurst College earned notice in the poll by moving from unranked to No. 9.