2024 Men’s Varsity Week 2/September 18 Polls Released; The University of California-Los Angeles & Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Remain No. 1

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of California-Los Angeles and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges remain favored to claim the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and USA Water Polo Division III National Champions, respectively, as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the official 2024 Men’s Varsity Week 2/September 18 National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.

UCLA – which finished second in the final 2023 poll after dropping a 13-11 contest with the University of California for the 2023 NCAA title – retains top billing in the National Top 20, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps – which took down the University of Redlands by a 6-5 score last year to capture the USA Water Polo Division III crown – continues as the top-ranked team in the Division III Top 10.

Defending MAWPC champion Fordham University and NWPC champion Princeton University retain the crowns of No. 1 teams in their leagues’ Top Five rankings.

Voted on by a panel of coaches, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.

2024 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Week 2/September 18)

The University of California-Los Angeles becomes a unanimous top pick in the 2024 Week 2/September 18 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.

UCLA (100 points) – which achieved a 98-to-97 lead over reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California in the preseason balloting before widening the gap to 99-to-93 over Stanford University last week – once again enlarges the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 by achieving a 100-to-93 margin versus Stanford.

Stanford (93 points), the University of Southern California (91 points) and Pepperdine University (85 points) remain steady at No. 2-to-4, respectively, behind the Bruins through two weeks of intercollegiate competition.

University of the Pacific (79 points) moves up two places to take over at No. 5 and drive California (76 points) and Princeton University (69 points) back to No. 6 and 7. The University of California-Irvine (63 points) take over at No. 8 with San Jose State University (57 points) breaking into the Top 10 at No. 9.

The final position in the Top 10 is shared by Long Beach State University (52 points) and Fordham University (52 points).

The University of California-Davis (47 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (41 points) and Harvard University (35 points) rearrange to rate at No. 12-to-14 with the duo of Loyola Marymount University (30 points) and the University of California-San Diego (30 points) tying at No. 15.

The United States Naval Academy (18 points), Santa Clara University (15 points), Brown University (12 points) and California Baptist University (6 points) conclude the Top 20.

2024 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 2/September 18)

Defending USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges retains the lead position in the 2024 Week 2/September 18 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.

The Stags (99 points) fall one point shy of being a unanimous top selection as CMS leads both Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (92 points) and the University of Redlands (92 points) by seven points.

Chapman University (87 points) continues at 4, while California Lutheran University (79 points) acquires sole custody of the No. 5 position with Whittier College (74 points) and Occidental College (71 points) moving up to No. 6 and 7.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (65 points) slips to No. 8 with Johns Hopkins University (61 points) and the University of La Verne (45 points) once again accounting for the remainder of the Top 10.

2024 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 18)

Fordham University – which claimed the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Championships – remains on the path to a potential four-peat as the Rams top the 2024 Week 2/September 18 MAWPC Top Five Poll.

The Rams (98 points) see their lead shrink to three points compared to last week when Fordham rated as a unanimous top pick with a 100-to-93 margin compared to runner-up the United States Naval Academy (95 points.

Bucknell University (73 points), George Washington University (69 points) and Wagner College (67 points) retain the No. 3-to-5 positions for another week.

2024 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2/September 18)

Three-time defending Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University leads the 2024 Week 2/September 18 NWPC Top Five Poll.

The 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) again rate as a unanimous No. 1 selection. Three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (95 points), Brown University (88 points), Iona University (67 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (66 points) remain stagnant to complete the Top Five.