CWPA Women’s Poll: Little Movement, But UC Irvine Invite Next Week Will Change That

Ruth Arino Ruiz. Photo Courtesy: Loyola Marymount Athletics / Brad Kinsella

There was not much change in this week’s Collegiate Water Polo Association’s Poll as the top 12 teams remained the same. The biggest leap was by Pacific, which moved from 17th to No. 13. The biggest drop? Four spots by UC Santa Barbara, which split four matches at the ASU Invitational and is now ranked No. 16.

CWPA Week 4 Women’s Varsity Poll

Next weekend will see significant fluctuation at the top; the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at US Irvine will pit sixteen teams, including eight of the nation’s Top Ten, in a three-day, winner-take-all extravaganza.

1) UCLA (9-0; 0-0 MPSF); Ho, hum a 16-5 win over UC Irvine keeps the Bruins on top. This weekend Arizona State comes to Westwood. It will be on the Sun Devils to prove their top-ten ranking.

2) Hawai’i (8-1; 0-0 Big West); The Rainbow Wahine are No. 2 for the second-straight week, their longest ever placement this high in the poll. Another weekend off before the Kalbus Invite means they’ll stay #2 for a third-straight week.

3 Fresno State (8-3; 0-0 GCC); Ditto for the Bulldogs; last week off means another week in the top three. There’s two matches at home this weekend against Fresno Pacific and Whittier—sure wins to keep Fresno State third.

4) Stanford (7-2; 0-0 MPSF); A win over UC-Davis last Saturday means six-straight wins for the Cardinal. A weekend off to prepare for the UCI tournament, which they won in 2023.

5 (T) California (5-1; 0-0 MPSF); UC-Davis this weekend; a light schedule before the trip to Irvine.

5 (T) USC (4-2; 0-0 MPSF); The Trojans were off last weekend, an opportunity to prepare against UC Irvine this weekend.

7) Arizona State (11-1; 0-0 MPSF); four more wins last weekend; the toughest opponent was #12 UC Santa Barbara. This weekend a trip to Westwood and #1 UCLA.

8) Michigan (6-5; 0-0); Wolverines travel to Indianapolis for games against Iona, St. Francis PA and Salem; no match with the host Hoosiers until April.

9) Princeton (2-2; 0-0 CWPA); Tigers host Bucknell, Harvard, La Salle, Mount St. Mary’s, Siena, Villanova, Wagner—and San Diego State from the other coast. Princeton versus the Crimson on Saturday could be telling for both teams.

10) UC-Irvine (4-5; 0-0 Big West); A blow-out loss to the Bruins last weekend followed by a match this weekend against rebounding USC. Bigger news: one week to the Kalbus Invitational.

11) Loyola Marymount (11-2; 0-0 GCC); UC San Diego and Whittier this weekend; the Lions have done extremely well behind the stellar play of Ruth Arino Ruiz (33 goals, 25 assists).

12) Long Beach State (6-3; 0-0 Big West); A 2-0 last weekend in San Diego, an exhibition against University of Toronto and then a trip to Irvine.

13) Pacific (5-2; 0-0 GCC); Three wins at UC Davis put Tigers on right track for four matches at Santa Clara including against CWPA No. 19 San Jose State.

14) UC-San Diego (6-4; 0-0 Big West); A Friday night match against LMU is another one-goal loss, the Triton’s fourth loss by a single score.

15) Indiana (8-0; 0-0 MPSF); This weekend the Hoosiers will likely extend their best start ever, given four matches with unranked opponents. The real test begins next week when they open against USC in Irvine.

16 (T) San Jose State (4-4; 0-0 MPSF); Four matches this weekend in Santa Clara for the Spartans, including a contest against Pacific.

16 (T) UC–Santa Barbara (9-5; 0-0 Big West); The Gauchos are off until the Kalbus Invite where Stanford will be waiting for them in the first round.

18) UC Davis (2-11; 0-0 Big West); A much better result against Stanford last weekend (a three-goal loss versus a 16-goal loss in week one). That and a three goal loss to Pacific and a 24-1 win against UC-Merced, a program in its second year.

19) Wagner (10-2; 0-0 MAAC); The Seahawks keep winning; four more last weekend at Bucknell. They’ll face the Bison again in Princeton this weekend as well as San Diego State.

20) Harvard (2-2; 0-0 CWPA); After being off for last week the Crimson match up against the host Tigers, one of four foes they’ll face at the Princeton Invitational.

CWPA NOTABLE TEAMS:

Long Island University (6-2; 0-0 MAAC); Two weeks ago the Sharks swept the competition in Cambridge and Providence, including Claremont Mudd-Scripps visiting from California. This weekend they’ll play Chapman, another SCIAC member, at the Curtis Robinette Memorial Invitational in Erie, PA, in honor of the former Mercyhurst head coach who passed away in 2021 at the age of 41.

San Diego State (5-4; 0-0 GCC); The Aztecs will fly East for the Princeton Invitational this weekend. It’s a curious choice because Head Coach Dana Ochsner’s team would have faced better competition in early February at the Bruno Classic. As it is, SDSU will face Princeton and Wagner as well as Siena and LaSalle—and revive a tradition that last took place in 2020, when Carin Crawford was leading the Aztecs.

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