W&J WOMEN’S WATER POLO ATOP CWPA PRESEASON POLL (1/13)

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Collegiate Water Polo Association released its 2010 women’s preseason polls on Wednesday and Washington & Jefferson College received a pair of mentions. 

The Presidents enter the 2010 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the inaugural CWPA Division III Top 5 poll.  Nine teams are eligible for the poll under the newly-created organization which will compete for a spot in the Division III National Collegiate Championship in May. 

Grove City is the No. 2 team in the poll and is followed by Carthage (Ill.), Macalester (Minn.) and Wheaton (Ill.).  Connecticut College, Penn State-Behrend, Chatham and Utica also compete in the conference’s inaugural season.  The change marked the first time an NCAA conference has divided its membership based on institutional affiliation without a NCAA Division II or Division III championship in the sport. 

In addition, Washington & Jefferson is the eighth-ranked team in the Division III National Top 10 poll.  Pomona-Pitzer tops the poll and is followed by California Lutheran, Occidental, Redlands, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Whittier, Chapman, W&J, Grove City and Macalester.

W&J enters the season with a new head coach, Greg Jones.  Jones was hired at the college in December after serving as the head men’s and women’s water polo coach at Salem International. 

Jones returns five seniors this spring, including All-America goalie Polly Ziegler (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) and Academic All-American Jessica Barby (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson).  Ziegler amassed a career-high 264 saves a year ago, while Barby contributed 31 goals, 37 assists and 14 steals.

W&J opens its season on March 4th when it hosts Penn State-Behrend at 7:00 pm at the Henry Memorial Natatorium. 

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