CWPA Top Ten; Quiet at the Top But Exciting Action in the Weeks to Come

Today, Indiana will play an emotional game against ex-CWPA rival Michigan. Photo Courtesy: Indiana Athletics

The Collegiate Water Polo Association’s Week Nine poll of the country’s top varsity women’s programs is out and—in contrast with the turmoil within USC’s men’s and women’s polo program—it’s relatively placid in the CWPA Top Ten.

After perhaps the most dramatic week in program history, the top-ranked Trojans will take the weekend off and be spectators to what will be a closely-watched affair this coming Monday when former head coach Jovan Vavic will appear before a federal magistrate in Boston to answer for the charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering.

Against this backdrop, USC (20-0)—now coached on an interim basis by long-time Vavic assistant Casey Moon—will prepare to defend a winning streak that has ballooned to 36-straight on Saturday, March 30. This match was already highly anticipated; with the drama surrounding Vavic’s firing and implication in the massive Varsity Blues scandal, it’s a must-see event. The prospective audience at Uytengsu Aquatics Center will not include Carol Folt, who just two days ago was named Southern Cal’s 12th president.

[Carol L. Folt to become USC’s 12th president]

If you cannot be there, the match will be televised—2:30pm (PST) on the Pac-12 Network.

Does she REALLY want this job? Photo Courtesy: USC Media Relations

And what of the #2 Cardinal (12-1; 2-0 MPSF)? They have two warm-up matches over the next few days; tomorrow afternoon against #18 Harvard and then Monday afternoon against #10 UC Irvine. It seems inconceivable that, with their main antagonist wounded by one of the worst academic scandals in recent memory, that Head Coach John Tanner and his talented bunch would look past relatively minor opponents… but, this season apparently nothing is certain.

UCLA (19-3; 3-0 MPSF) moved back into the #3 spot two weeks ago on the strength of a home win against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) rival Cal. Since then, the Bruins have moved out to 3-0 in the MPSF, and they too hope to trade on Trojan misery. They’ll have to wait their turn; UCLA also has the weekend off and must face #7 Pacific next Friday and then Stanford and San Jose State the following weekend before what will likely be an over-hyped game with USC on April 20 at Spieker Aquatics Center in Westwood.

Cal (12-3; 0-1 MPSF), the nation’s #4 team, is in action tomorrow against MPSF foe #19 San Jose State. The Golden Bears have an exhibition match on Tuesday against UC Santa Barbara and will then travel to Hawai’i for a match-up with the Rainbow Wahine, who they’ve already beaten twice this season.

#5 Hawai’i (12-4; 1-0 Big West) would love to close the gap against Cal, and a 12-10 loss in February followed by an 11-10 loss in March may be a leading indicator. First, the Rainbow Wahine will take on Big West foe CSUN tomorrow as they look to shake off back-to-back losses to the Golden Bears and the Trojans.

The one who stayed; Michigan Head Coach Marcelo Leonardi. Photo Courtesy: Maciek Gudrymowicz

The game of the week is #6 Michigan (14-8) versus #22 (T) Indiana (5-12; 0-4 MPSF) tomorrow in Ann Arbor. Not that these two teams are at the same level; it’s more of a grudge match between rivals in Big Ten sports like football and basketball—and ex-rivals in CWPA. There’s no question that in this match-up the Wolverines are clear favorites over the Hoosiers; the reality though is that by leaving Michigan and the CWPA behind, Indiana Head Coach Ryan Castle has taken a bold step towards the future. The reward is great but, right now at least, the risk appears greater; the Hoosiers have been pummeled by member of its new conference, the MPSF, losing all four games thus far by a cumulative score of 69-12. And there’s still two remaining.

The pain is to be paid in promise: prospective players who will make for a brighter future for Indiana polo—and a clear distinction between two Midwestern universities seeking to break into the upper ranks of the women’s scene. Michigan is already there, but now they’ll have to fight that much harder to ensure that top talent chooses Ann Arbor and NOT Indianapolis.

#7 Pacific (7-7) will play it’s first conference match today against Golden Coast Conference foe #13 Fresno State. This could be a trap game for the Tigers; they’ve played four of their 14 matches against Michigan (losing three) and their only signature win was over host UC Irvine in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Plus, a non-conference match with UCLA looms next Friday; while it’s not likely that Head Coach James Graham would let his team look ahead, it’s also not impossible.

After an up and down start to its season, #8 Arizona State (10-8; 1-2 MPSF) has a break before hosting the ASU Invitational #2 next weekend. With three matches against lesser opponents San Diego State, Siena and MPSF foe San Jose State, the Sun Devils should pad the win column—especially because a match-up with top-ranked USC in Los Angeles awaits on April 13.

UC Santa Barbara Head Coach Serela Kaye. Photo Courtesy: Minette Rubin

#9 UC Santa Barbara (16-5; 1-0 Big West) and #10 UC Irvine (12-7; 0-1 Big West) are almost interchangeable; in fact the Big West rivals have already leap-frogged each other in the polls a couple of times this season. Right now, the Gauchos are on top by virtue of their 6-5 win over the Anteaters two weeks ago. On Monday they play a non-conference match against and an exhibition on Tuesday against Cal.

[Big West Water Polo Round-Up; Hawai’i, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara Ahead of the Rest]

UCI has a non-conference match up Monday with Stanford before playing Big West rival CSUN next Saturday; the Anteaters then face Hawai’i on April 6 in a rematch of last year’s Big West Championship match, won by UCA in sudden death overtime. Meaning, there’s a lot more exciting action to look forward to in the coming weeks.

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