Redlands Men’s Water Polo Ranked No. 1 in Final Division III National Rankings

CWPA Division III National Polls

REDLANDS, Calif. - The final Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) National Polls for Division III were released this week for Men's Water Polo and there is a new team atop of the polls.

After an impressive run during the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament and then a National Title run during the USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate National Championships the University of Redlands is the unanimous No. 1 team in Division III.

With 100 Points the Bulldogs land at No. 1 followed by Cal Lutheran (No. 2 – 95 Points), Pomona-Pitzer (No. 3 – 87 Points), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (No. 4 – 84 Points), and Chapman University (No. 5 – 78 Points) rounding out the Top-5.

On the season the Maroon and Grey moved around the Division III National Rankings going from No. 7 to No. 8 and then jumping up to No. 2.  But after finishing as Runners-Up during the SCIAC Tournament and a Division III Collegiate National Championship the U of R holds the top spot. 

Redlands finished the year 17-15, 5-6 SCIAC.  They won four of their last five, was the only team to beat Pomona-Pitzer in SCIAC competition and during the SCIAC Tournament upset No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer to clinch a spot in the Collegiate National Championships.  

They were 17-11 against Non-Division I schools with their 17 wins being the most since 2016 when they won 18. They only had five wins in 2021, a 12-win improvement, their best turnaround from one season to another in program history, and their best since improving by 11 wins in from 2012 to 2013.