Stanford Starts 2023 Atop Preseason Water Polo Poll

Photo Courtesy: USA Water Polo

Stanford Starts 2023 Atop Preseason Water Polo Poll

Reigning national champion Stanford starts 2023 atop the preseason college water polo Top 25 poll, released this week.

Stanford won their eighth NCAA title last year, defeating USC in the final, 10-7. The topped the Trojans in the 2019 final as well. Stanford (25-2) has made the NCAA final in 11 of the last 12 seasons. The Cardinal, which have to replace 2023 NCAA Tournament MVP Mackenzie Fischer, open the season at the Cal Cup on Jan. 28 against No. 13 San Jose State and No. 8 Fresno State before a Sunday showdown with No. 3 Cal.

USC is second in the season-opening poll. UCLA and Cal are tied for the third spot. USC won the 2021 national title over UCLA.

Much like in Division I, the Division III champ starts the season on top of the rankings. That’s Pomona-Pitzer, who won the 2022 title by topping Whittier College for its first ever water polo title. Whitter starts the 2023 season in third, down a spot behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

2023 Women’s Varsity Division Top 25 (Preseason)

School (final 2022 poll), Points

Stanford University (1), 99
University of Southern California (2), 97
T-3 UCLA (4), 90
T-3 University of California (3), 90
University of California-Irvine (5) 82
University of Hawaii (6), 81
University of Michigan (7), 73
Fresno State University (8), 69
Long Beach State University (9), 68
Arizona State University (10), 64
University of California-San Diego (11), 60
University of California-Davis (12), 57
T-13 Indiana University (14), 46
T-13 San Jose State University (15), 46
Wagner College (13), 44
Harvard University (T-18), 35
T-17 Princeton University (20), 34
T-17 University of the Pacific (17), 34
University of California-Santa Barbara (T-18), 33
Loyola Marymount University (16), 32
Long Island University (23), 18
San Diego State University (21), 16
California State University-Northridge (24), 12
Brown University (22), 10
Marist College (25), 4

Receiving Votes: California Baptist University, Iona University, Saint Francis University, Azusa Pacific University

2023 Women’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason)

School (final 2022 poll), Points

Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (1), 100
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (3), 91
Whittier College (2), 99
California Lutheran University (4), 85
T-5 Chapman University (7), 76
T-5 University of Redlands (8), 76
T-7 University of La Verne (6), 67
T-7 Occidental College (10), 67
Austin College (5), 61
Augustana College (9), 52

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