2024 Men’s Varsity Week 5/October 9 Polls Released; Stanford University & University of Redlands Take Over at No. 1

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The top teams in the nation change this week as Stanford University and the University of Redlands take over at No. 1 in the National Top 20 and Division III Top 10 as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the official 2024 Men’s Varsity Week 5/October 9 National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Polls.

Stanford – which ranked at No. 3 last week – rises to the top spot to displace previously top-billed the University of California-Los Angeles.  Redlands – which was tied with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at No. 2 in the Division III rankings seven days ago – edges out the Sagehens by two points to stand alone at No. 1 in Division III.

Defending MAWPC champion Fordham University remains a unanimous No. 1 pick in its league rankings, while Harvard University catches NWPC champion Princeton University to assume the premier position in the Northeast Water Polo Conference voting.

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 5/October 9)

Stanford University moves up two positions to take over at No. 1 in the 2024 Week 5/October 9 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.

Stanford (99 points) – which overcame previously No. 1 the University of California-Los Angeles (9-7 W) and prior No. 2 the University of Southern California (8-6 W) last week – falls one vote shy of rating as a unanimous top pick.

UCLA (95 points) and USC (92 points) both drop back one position to No. 2 and 3, respectively, with University of the Pacific (83 points) and the University of California-Irvine (78 points) inching up to No. 4 and 5.

Fordham University (74 points) gains sole custody of the No. 6 berth after tying with UC-Irvine and the University of California for the spot last week.  Pepperdine University (70 points), California (68 points), Long Beach State University (58 points) and Harvard University (53 points) move to 7-10, respectively, to complete the Top 10.

Princeton University (49 points) drops back to No. 11 with San Jose State University (44 points), the University of California-Davis (40 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (35 points) and the University of California-San Diego (34 points) rating at No. 12-to-15.

Loyola Marymount University (27 points) and Santa Clara University (23 points) come in at No. 16 and 17 with Brown University (12 points) and California Baptist University (12 points) tying at No. 18.

The final position in the Top 20 is a four-way tie as the United States Naval Academy (2 points) and the United States Air Force Academy (2 points) – which tied at No. 20 last week – are joined by Wagner College (2 points) and Bucknell University (2 points).

2024 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 5/October 9)

The University of Redlands moves up to No. 1 in the 2024 Week 5/October 9 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.

Redlands (97 points), which was tied with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at No. 2 last week, eclipses the Sagehens and former No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to assume top billing in the fifth week of the 2024 season.

Pomona-Pitzer (95 points) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (90 points) rate at No. 2 and 3, respectively, with Occidental College (83 points) rising three spots to take over at No. 4.

Whittier College (77 points) and California Lutheran University (76 points) exchange the No. 5 and 6 positions with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (71 points), Chapman University (56 points), Augustana College (47 points) and the University of La Verne (44 points) completing the Top 10.

2024 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5/October 9)

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 continue to top the 2024 Week 5/October 9 MAWPC Top Five Poll.

The Rams (100 points) maintain a seven point lead over Bucknell University (93 points).

Wagner College (86 points) and George Washington University (86 points) move into a tie at No. 4 with the United States Naval Academy (85 points) falling one point shy of creating a three-way tie at the position.

2024 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5/October 9)

Three-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Harvard University dislodges reigning NWPC Champion Princeton University for the top spot in the 2024 Week 5/October 9 NWPC Top Five Poll.

The 2016, 2017, 2019 NWPC Champion Crimson (98 points) edge past the 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023 NWPC Champion Tigers (97 points) by a point after Harvard defeated host Princeton by a 17-16 score in sudden victory over the weekend.

Brown University (90 points), Iona University (85 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (80 points) maintain their prior positions to complete the Top Five.