UCLA Poll Watch: Women's Water Polo Swims to #1

UCLA Women's Water Polo claimed the top spot in the most recent CWPA Poll without scoring a goal last week. However, when previously top-ranked Stanford lost to fifth-ranked Cal in the final of the Stanford Invitational, the Bruins (4-0) captured the CWPA's number one ranking.

The Bruins haven't played an official match in over two weeks since opening the season with a sweep at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational. UCLA is back in action this weekend when it travels to south to participate in the UC San Diego Invitational. The Bruins will open the tournament with a Saturday morning match against Sonoma State.

If UCLA Men's Basketball is going to make a late season push to get back into the top half of the Pac-12 standings, it has to start this weekend in the desert. Anything less than a split will be disastrous for UCLA's postseason hopes, unless of course you're one of those folks who thinks it would be treat to see the Bruins in the NIT. Given how frequently Alford defenders point to the difficulty of winning on the road in the Pac-12, it seems that we all agree that the likelihood that the Bruins will drop a pair in Arizona is much greater than the probability that they'll get their first road trip sweep of the Alford-era.

To the extent that there's good news for Alford's Bruins in this week's polls, the Pac-12 now has three teams in the AP top-25: Oregon (11th), Arizona (17th), and Southern Cal (23rd). UCLA's record against those teams this season is 1-3, although the Bruins will get a chance to improve on that mark on Friday evening in Tucson.

UCLA Women's Basketball is home this week after two straight weeks on the road. Last week the Bruins split their games in Arizona. The Bruins remain at #14 in the AP Poll and #16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and are currently tied for third (with Stanford) in the Pac-12 standings. However, with Stanford set to play Arizona State this weekend, the Bruins are well-positioned to move up in the polls and the standings if they can sweep the Washington schools this week.

The Pac-12 currently has four teams in the top-15 of the AP Poll (#8 Oregon State, #9 Arizona State, #13 Stanford, #14 UCLA) and two more sitting just outside the top-25 (Washington and Oregon). After this weekend, the Bruins face a tough road trip to Oregon before returning home to play the Arizona schools. The last few weeks of the Pac-12 season certainly present a challenge for the Bruins, but they also provide a big opportunity--the Bruins can still win the Pac-12 title, but they'll need a little help to make it happen.

As a consequence of splitting its pair of games against #5 Hawai'i in Honolulu, UCLA Men's Volleyball is no longer undefeated and is no longer the top-ranked team in the country. The top spot has been awarded to Long Beach State after the 49ers comfortably beat #6 Stanford and #11 Cal State Northridge, with UCLA's drop in the polls coming in spite of the fact that the Bruins have fewer losses than the 49ers and in spite of the fact that the UCLA beat Long Beach State just two weeks ago. Clearly the voters have short memories.

However, the Bruins remain in first place in the MPSF conference with a half-game lead over LBSU and a full one-game lead over Stanford and BYU. UCLA resumes action tonight against #12 UC Irvine.

Finally, UCLA Women's Tennis holds onto the 21st spot in the ITA rankings after defeating Northwestern 6-1 last week. The Bruins host a rare doubleheader on Saturday with a morning match against UC Davis followed by an afternoon match against Cal State Northridge.

Need to work on your tan this weekend? @uclawtennis is hosting a double-header @ LATC.
Info: https://t.co/RWMEQHijli pic.twitter.com/3KFBSRCqWy

— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) February 10, 2016

Men's Basketball

Last Week: UCLA lost to USC 80-61.

Associated Press Poll (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Villanova (32)	1566	20-3	3
2	Maryland (13)	1499	21-3	4
3	Oklahoma (7)	1472	19-3	1
4	Iowa (11)	1471	19-4	5
5	Xavier	1382	21-2	6
6	Kansas	1311	19-4	7
7	Virginia	1223	19-4	9
8	Michigan State	1144	20-4	10
9	North Carolina	1136	19-4	2
10	West Virginia	1082	19-4	14
11	Oregon	905	20-4	16
12	Miami (Fla.)	826	18-4	17
13	Louisville	819	19-4	19
14	Iowa State	781	17-6	13
15	Texas A&M	663	18-5	8
16	SMU	593	20-2	12
17	Arizona	497	19-5	23
18	Purdue	456	19-5	18
19	Dayton	413	19-3	24
20	Providence	349	18-6	11
21	Baylor	333	17-6	15
22	Kentucky	228	17-6	20
23	Southern California	225	18-5	27
24	Texas	199	16-7	NR
25	Wichita State	132	17-6	21

UCLA (13-10, 4-6) received 0 points.

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS
1	Villanova (11)	20-3	753	4
2	Maryland (11)	21-3	749	3
3	Oklahoma (3)	19-3	708	2
4	Xavier	21-2	683	5
5	Iowa (3)	19-4	674	7
6	Kansas (2)	19-4	670	6
7	Virginia	19-4	616	9
8	North Carolina (1)	19-4	599	1
9	Michigan State (1)	20-4	567	10
10	West Virginia	19-4	490	12
11	Miami (FL)	18-4	433	15
12	Oregon	20-4	423	17
13	Texas A&M	18-5	387	8
14	Arizona	19-5	310	20
15	Iowa State	17-6	307	14
16	Purdue	19-5	292	16
17	Dayton	19-3	236	24
17	Providence	18-6	236	11
19	Baylor	17-6	221	13
20	South Carolina	20-3	185	23
21	Kentucky	17-6	178	19
22	Indiana	19-5	119	21
23	USC	18-5	105	NR
24	Wichita St	17-6	91	22
25	Texas	16-7	69	NR

UCLA (13-10, 4-6) received 0 points.

Women's Basketball

Last Week: #14 UCLA lost to #8 Arizona State 65-61, and defeated Arizona 73-39.

Associated Press Poll (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS
1	UConn (32)	22-0	800	1
2	South Carolina	22-0	765	2
3	Notre Dame	23-1	739	3
4	Baylor	23-1	699	4
5	Maryland	21-2	660	5
6	Texas	21-1	653	6
7	Ohio State	18-4	599	7
8	Oregon State	20-3	580	9
9	Arizona State	20-4	518	8
10	Florida State	19-4	515	10
11	Mississippi State	21-4	485	11
12	Louisville	18-6	418	13
13	Stanford	19-5	389	15
14	UCLA	17-6	366	14
15	Texas A&M	16-7	354	12
16	Florida	19-4	305	22
17	Michigan St	18-5	286	17
18	Kentucky	16-6	231	18
19	Miami (Fla.)	20-4	219	16
20	Oklahoma St	18-4	202	25
21	Oklahoma	16-6	132	20
22	South Florida	16-6	115	19
23	DePaul	19-7	84	NR
24	West Virginia	18-6	80	NR
25	Tennessee	14-9	49	23

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS
1	Connecticut (32)	23-0	800	1
2	South Carolina	22-1	750	2
3	Notre Dame	23-1	746	3
4	Baylor	23-1	707	4
5	Texas	21-1	660	6
6	Ohio State	19-4	644	7
7	Maryland	21-3	601	5
8	Oregon State	20-3	589	8
9	Florida State	19-4	534	9
10	Arizona State	20-4	500	10
11	Mississippi State	21-4	457	12
12	Louisville	18-6	410	13
13	Texas A&M	16-7	398	11
14	Stanford	19-5	373	15
15	Michigan State	18-5	340	14
16	UCLA	17-6	296	16
17	Miami (FL)	20-4	265	20
18	Kentucky	16-6	262	18
19	Florida	19-4	237	22
20	South Florida	16-6	163	17
21	Oklahoma	16-6	135	19
22	Syracuse	18-6	121	23
23	DePaul	19-7	113	24
24	Duquesne	21-2	51	NR
24	Oklahoma State	18-4	51	NR

Men's Volleyball

Last Week: #1 UCLA split with #5 Hawai'i, losing 1-3 and winning 3-2.

AVCA Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	POINTS	RECORD	PREVIOUS
1	Long Beach State (9)	288	9-2	2
2	UCLA (11)	287	11-1	1
3	BYU	261	8-2	3
4	Hawai'i	231	9-2	5
5	Loyola-Chicago	220	7-2	4
6	Stanford	209	8-2	6
7	Penn State	169	6-2	8
8	Pepperdine	150	6-3	9
9	Ohio State	143	8-3	7
10	UC Santa Barbara	122	8-5	10
11	CSUN	80	7-4	12
12	UC Irvine	72	3-7	11
13	Ball State	66	7-3	14
14	Lewis	65	8-4	13
15	Saint Francis	20	5-4	15

Women's Water Polo

Last Week: #2 UCLA was not in action.

CWPA Poll (February 10, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	POINTS	PREVIOUS
1	UCLA	98	2
2	Southern Cal	96	3
3	California	92	T5
4	Stanford	90	1
5	Arizona State	82	T5
6	Michigan	78	7
T7	Hawai'i	72	4
T7	UC Davis	72	T8
9	UC Irvine	69	10
10	San Jose State	62	T8
11	UC Santa Barbara	61	11
12	Hartwick	60	17
13	Pacific	48	12
14	Princeton	46	14
15	Harvard	39	21
16	Loyola Marymount	38	15
17	Indiana	37	13
18	San Diego State	31	18
T19	UC San Diego	30	19
T19	Wagner	30	16

Men's Tennis

Last Week: #9 UCLA defeated #16 San Diego 7-0.

ITA Division I Men's Team Rankings* (February 10, 2016)

* No team rankings are published the week of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship.

Women's Tennis

Last Week: #21 UCLA defeated Northwestern 6-1.

ITA Division I Women's Team Rankings (February 10, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	PREVIOUS
1	California	6
2	North Carolina	5
3	Florida	3
4	Georgia	2
5	Vanderbilt	1
6	Ohio State	16
7	Duke	14
8	Michigan	12
9	Virginia	7
10	Texas Tech	17
11	USC	4
12	Miami	11
13	LSU	19
14	Stanford	8
15	Oklahoma State	10
16	Texas A&M	9
17	Pepperdine	18
18	Alabama	13
19	Mississippi	25
20	Clemson	20
21	UCLA	21
22	Kentucky	23
23	TCU	22
24	Georgia Tech	24
25	Northwestern	26

Women's Gymnastics

Last Week: #5 UCLA defeated #7 Utah 197.100-197.075.

GymInfo Team Rankings (February 8, 2016)

RANK	TEAM	AVERAGE	HIGH
1	Oklahoma	197.393	197.925
2	Florida	197.22	198.175
3	Michigan	196.86	196.975
4	Alabama	196.842	197.525
5	LSU	196.705	197.425
6	Utah	196.65	197.15
7	UCLA	196.51	197.1
8	Auburn	196.204	196.825
9	Arkansas	196.2	196.7
10	Boise State	196.194	196.425
11	Georgia	195.958	196.775
12	Denver	195.945	196.675
13	Stanford	195.856	196.675
14	Nebraska	195.83	196.775
15	Missouri	195.808	196.625
16	Oregon State	195.694	196.35
17	George Washington	195.656	196.175
18	Minnesota	195.53	196.075
19	California	195.456	196.375
20	Illinois-Champaign	195.29	195.725
21	Southern Utah	195.185	195.7
22	New Hampshire	195.171	196.075
23	Ohio State	195.165	196.35
24	West Virginia	195.14	195.8
25	Kentucky	195.13	195.525

This Week In UCLA Sports

There's a SoCal @BMW #CrossTown Cup showdown this Friday at Spieker!
Come soak up the ☀️ with @UCLASwimAndDive . pic.twitter.com/mOu6Z1wjmv

— UCLA Athletics (@UCLAAthletics) February 9, 2016

Thursday, February 11

#2 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #12 UC Irvine at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)

Friday, February 12

• UCLA Track & Field at the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA (All Day)
• #9 UCLA Men's Tennis vs. #11 Georgia in Charlottesville, VA (9:00 AM PST)
• #7 UCLA Softball vs. Colorado State in College Station, TX (10:15 AM PST)
• #7 UCLA Softball vs. Texas A&M in College Station, TX (1:00 PM PST)
• #19 UCLA Swimming & Diving vs. #7 Southern Cal in Los Angeles, CA (1:00 PM PST)
• UCLA Men's Basketball  vs. #17 Arizona in Tucson, AZ (6:00 PM PST)
• #14 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Washington State at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)

Saturday, February 13

• UCLA Track & Field at the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA (All Day)
• #1 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. Sonoma State in San Diego (8:30 AM PST)
• #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. UC Davis in Los Angeles, CA (10:00 AM PST)
• #7 UCLA Softball vs. Wichita State in College Station, TX (10:15 AM PST)
• #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles, CA (2:00 PM PST)
• #7 UCLA Softball vs. Texas A&M in College Station, TX (3:15 PM PST)
• #1 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. TBD in San Diego (TBA)
• #2 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. UC San Diego at the John Wooden Center (7:00 PM PST)
• #7 UCLA Women's Gymnastics vs. #16 Oregon State in Los Angeles, CA (8:00 PM PST)