Cardinal Rule II: Stanford Returns to No. 1 in April 28 Women's Varsity Coaches' Polls

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- Stanford University returns to the No. 1 spot in the country as the April 28 Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll was released today by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. In other rankings, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Michigan and Grove City College are No. 1 in the Division III, CWPA and CWPA Division III Polls.

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 polls are released each Wednesday during the season until the Wednesday following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

Women's Varsity Top 20 Poll

Stanford University returns to the No. 1 ranking in the Varsity Top 20 Poll for the first time in eight weeks as the Cardinal garnered 99 points.

Stanford, which replaces the University of Southern California as the No. 1 team in the country following an eight-week run by the Trojans, returns to the top spot in the wake of a 7-6 overtime victory against the Trojans last week.  This week's ranking marks the seventh time during the 2010 season Stanford has held the No. 1 spot in the poll as the Cardinal experienced a six-week run at No. 1 and has now been ranked in the Top Two for 15 consecutive weeks.

The No. 3-9 positions in the poll remain constant, with the next change coming at No. 10 where the University of California-Irvine used victories over Long Beach State University (12-7 W), University of California-Davis (9-3 W), University of the Pacific (10-7 W) and California State University-Northridge (12-11 W) to climb six places after ranking No. 16 in the April 21 polling.  The movement drops Hartwick College back to No. 11, while San Diego State University, CSU-Northridge and Indiana University slide to No. 12-14, respectively.

Pacific, University of California-Santa Barbara, UC-Davis, University of California-San Diego, Bucknell University and Marist College complete the Top 20 for this week.

Women's Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges remains at the top spot in the Division III National Top 10 Poll as the Sagehens garnered 100 points to rank as a unanimous No. 1 selection in the April 28 Women's Division III Poll.

The only change in the poll comes at No. 2 as California Lutheran University and Occidental College are now tied for the runner-up position after Occidental ranked alone at No. 2 last week.

The University of Redlands, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Grove City College, Whittier College, Carthage College, Chapman University and Wheaton College all maintain their positions at No. 4-10 for another week.

Women's Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Poll

Four-time Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern champion the University of Michigan (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009) received 100 points to rank as a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Coaches' Poll.

Michigan, which was tied with Hartwick College in the CWPA Preseason Poll with 98 points, took over sole possession of the position in the January 27 poll.

The rankings closely reflect the seedings for the 2010 Eastern Championship this weekend at the University of Maryland as Hartwick, Indiana University, Bucknell University, Brown University, Princeton University, Maryland and Harvard University all earned slots to the league's championship event.  The only difference in the rankings vs. the seedings occurs at No. 5 as Brown and Princeton are tied for the fifth spot in the poll, but the Tigers hold the No. 5 seed due to a better win-loss record versus the No. 6 seed Bears.

George Washington University and Mercyhurst College round out the Top 10.

Women's Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Top 5 Poll

Grove City College maintains its position as the top-rated team in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Divsion III ranks for an eighth week as the Wolverines garnered 100 points to remain a unanimous No. 1 pick in the CWPA Division III Top 5.

The poll is reflective of the final standings at the 2010 CWPA Division III Championship from this past weekend at Utica College as Carthage College (Wisc.), Wheaton College (Ill.), Washington & Jefferson College and Connecticut College rate at No. 2-5.  The only change in the Top 5 occured at the fifth spot as the Camels replace Macalester College in the final slot, with the Fightin' Scots dropping into the "Others Receiving Votes" category.