College Rankings: Georgia Women Hang On to Top Spot, Cal Men Jump to #1

By Chuck Knoles

PITTSBURGH, February 25. THE Georgia Bulldogs are poised to win the 2004-5 CSCAA’s title for the best college dual meet team in the land. All eight of the pollsters chose the Bulldogs as their #1 pick for the spot — the one they have enjoyed throughout most of the 2004-5 season.

The surprise of the dual meet season, however, came in the men's rankings after California completed its dual meet season undefeated by downing the previously #2-ranked Stanford on February 19. The meet has been dubbed the “fastest dual meet” of the 2004-5 season, and very possibly NCAA history. There were more than a dozen or so NCAA Automatic A-cuts achieved at the meet. The resulting win for California bounced the Bears to the #1 spot in the country.

Quoting from the Cal Bear’s website coverage of the meet… "It feels great," (Coach Nort)Thornton said of Cal's first victory over its rival in over a decade. "Both teams swam really well. It wasn't a matter of anyone swimming poorly. Considering the weather, the times were fantastic. It's one of the fastest dual meets I've ever seen."

College Swim Coaches Association (CSCAA)
Division I Swimming and Diving Team
Dual Meet Rankings for the 2004-5 Season
Feb. 24, 2005

MEN

Rank MEN’S DIV. IRANKING( )- indicates #1 votes Feb.24, 2005
1 California 195 (5)
2 Auburn 192 (3)
3 Stanford 184
4 Florida 181
5 Michigan 167
6 Minnesota 161
7 Texas 152
8 Arizona 144
9 Southern Cal 135
10 Virginia 126
11 Georgia 121
12 Kentucky 114
13 Indiana 104
14 Northwestern 96
15 Purdue 88
16 Texas A&M 79
17 Tennessee 63
18 Wisconsin 61
19 Hawaii 53
20 North Carolina 39
21 Notre Dame 34
22 Florida State 29
23 BYU 28
24 Harvard 19
25 Ohio State 13

Others receiving votes
SMU 9
Alabama 8
Georgia Tech 4
Arizona State 1

WOMEN

Rank WOMEN’S DIV. IRANKING( )- indicates #1 votes Feb. 24, 2005
1 Georgia 200 (8)
2 Auburn 192
3 Florida 184
4 Texas 176
5 Stanford 168
6 Arizona 159
7 SMU 150
8 Wisconsin 143
9 Texas A&M 135
10 UCLA 125
11 California 124
12 Maryland 113
13 Virginia 101
14 Penn State 99
15 ASU 88
16 North Carolina 75
17 Michigan 70
18 Indiana 60
19 Hawaii 59
20 Florida State 41
21 Washington 32
22 Tennessee 27
23 Minnesota 23
24 Purdue 20
25 Northwestern 15

Others receiving votes
Notre Dame 7
Southern Cal 6

For More Information Contact:
Chuck Knoles @ cknoles@pitt.edu

The dual meet season is now complete and many of the conference championships have already been held or will be contested in the next week. It should be an exciting championship season.

Many of the 270 participation spots for men and 320 spots for women have already been snagged by a plethora of Automatic Time Standards already achieved this season. The NCAA Championship invited list will have to wait until the conclusion of the remainder of the nation’s conference meets and “Last Chance” competitions.

Divers must all qualify at Zone Qualifying Meets held on the same weekend across the country. Of the 211 slots left on the women’s side 41 women will dive in their respective Zone Qualifying Meets, March 10-12 and vie for an invitation to the NCAA Championships. For the men, there are 35 slots open for divers. They will also compete March 10-12 for those 35 slots and a shot at the Championships in March.

The CSCAA Dual Meet Poll is an indication of a team’s ability to win dual meets during the season and is not a predictor of any team’s end-of-the-season placement at the NCAA Championships– although for most of the ranked teams there is a high correlation between their dual meet strength and the school’s ability to score at the Championship meets in March.

This season’s NCAA Championships “March Mania”, college swimming’s version of “March Madness” will take place March 17-18-19, 2005 at Purdue University in Indiana for the women. The men’s championship will take place the following week March 24-25-26, 2005 at the University of Minnesota. The College Swimming Coaches’ Association (CSCAA) has sponsored the dual meet poll for 20 plus years now.

The CSCAA will crown the Men’s and Women’s Dual Meet Championship team for the season on Thursday, March 10, 2005.

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