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The Michigan Water Polo Association (MWPA) has announced the Week 3 Top Ten Girls Rankings.
A full breakdown of the week and each ranked team is below.
#1 East Grand Rapids Pioneers
All aboard the Pioneer caravan! EATS Grand Rapids continued their feast on the state, they're 9-0. More impressive for Justin Hulsebus' Pioneers are 6-0 against top ten teams. Their closest game is a five-goal win over then #5 Grandville. They have a defending District Player of the Week (Claire Witting) and are back to work against #8 Zeeland this week.
#2 Hudsonville Eagles
The Eagles were off to an unbeaten start, that is until #3 Rockford unseated them with a 5-4 win last week. Ian Hewett's Eagle squad is 5-1 overall with a 1-1 mark against state top tens. Marley Persch won district player of the week last week for the Eagles as well. They have a District seed slate this week including #8 Zeeland, Grand Haven, West Ottawa, Jenison and Portage.
#3 Rockford Rams
Talk about a really nice rebound for Katie Clarin's Rams. After their second loss of the year (albeit to now #1 East Grand Rapids) the Rams rebounded and in their first meeting with Hudsonville since the 2019 State Championships, Rockford ground out a 5-4 win over the Eagles. The Rams are 9-2 overall, tied for the second most wins in the state with East Grand Rapids.
#4 Grandville Bulldogs
Up a spot from last week, the Bulldogs had a gauntlet this week. They lost 10-5 to #1 East Grand Rapids, and then turned around to top current #6 Hotel/Okemos later that night. Then the Bulldogs took down current #10 Ann Arbor Skyline, and pushed past Ann Arbor Huron, who was one spot ahead of the Bulldogs in the rankings, 4-3. Mitch Fountain's Bulldogs are 14-4 with the most wins in the state, and a 6-4 record against top ten teams. All of their losses are to teams in the top three in the state.
#5 Ann Arbor Huron River Rats
The River Rats are 6-1 with a 3-0 record in District 4 seed standings. Mary Chatigny's River Rats are 1-1 against top ten teams so far this year. Their only loss was a 4-3 loss to now #4 Grandville this past weekend. Emma Kaipainen has been one of the state's bright stars from the East side and is the defending district player of the week. The River Rats will get put to the test against the Hotel/Okemos Co-Op.
#6 Hotel/Okemos Co-Op
Madi Zink's travelin' show rolled along this week with a tough schedule, but showed the state their skill. The Co-Op took down Ann Arbor Pioneer, and fell to then #1 East Grand Rapids and #5 Grandville this week. The Co-Op has played close games with strong teams and plays a string of challenging games upcoming with #5 Ann Arbor Huron on the docket this week, as well as #9 Saline.
#7 Birmingham Seaholm Maples
The Maples haven't lost, and are sitting in the same spot as last week. Seaholm squeaked by Grand Blanc but managed to stay unbeaten at 6-0 overall. Kellie Howe's Maples are 2-0 in District play, but have played all of their games in-region this season as they look to continue to prove themselves. Katie Gillette is the reigning District Player of the Week from District 3.
#8 Zeeland Dux
Zeeland had to tread water (pun intended) early as they were shorthanded in some top-ten games early, but have stabilized and won four straight since a loss to Hudsonville. Dave Vruggink's Zee's remain in the top ten after settling into a solid rhythm in the strong district one on the West side.
#9 Saline Hornets
The Hornets took down Dexter this week, but then suffered a narrow loss to then #4 Ann Arbor Huron. The Hornets are back in the poll under Nathan Barnett and draw a challenging week with #10 Ann Arbor Skyline and #6 Hotel/Okemos upcoming. The Hornets made a miraculous last minute comeback that they turned into an overtime win over Ann Arbor Skyline back on April 16 in a District seed game and are 2-3 this season against top ten teams.
#10 Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles
The Eagles are amongst the busier of the East Region teams and have an extremely strong strength of schedule. Rebecca Godek's Eagles lost 9-5 to current #4 Gtandville this week but topped Ann Arbor Pioneer earlier in the week. Four of their last five games have come against ranked teams, and they have another upcoming in #9 Saline this week.
On the Line: Jenison, East Kentwood, Ann Arbor Pioneer
What is "On The Line?": The first three teams outside the MWPA Poll in terms of percentage points - listed for context.
Understanding the Poll: The poll, open to all MWPA Head Coaches, is ranked via a point-percentage scoring model. The points column is percentage of points scored by voters against the maximum total, which is based on number of voters. The period that would signify percentage has been dropped off the beginning of each number.
Unanimous first place ranking nets a score of 1,000 points.
Coaches vote weekly during the season. Polls will be updated Monday afternoons at 12 pm ET. Inquiries on the poll can be directed to the chat feature on the MWPA website. Answering times may vary.