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The Michigan Water Polo Association has released the week seven top ten after the final weekend of district seed tournaments.
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A breakdown of the week that was is below for each team in the poll.
#1 Hudsonville Eagles
The regular season is in the books for the defending champions after a two-game week (30-5 score differential) in a pair of district seed games. They are automatic regional qualifiers as the #1 seed in District 1 and need to win just one game (the regional quarterfinal) to punch their ticket to Canham. They are the state leaders in victories (22) and have only lost to one in-state foe on the year. Ian Hewett has guided the Eagles into another good situation. All that remains is to see if the will hoist the top prize again.
#2 Ann Arbor Huron River Rats
A couple losses last weekend were atoned for loudly in 16 and 17 goal victories last week. The River Rats are the all-time leaders in women's state titles (8) and are very much in the hunt for #9 - most of their losses are with short rosters - but the most interesting ones are the two one-goal losses to Hudsonville on the campaign. Mary Chatigny's Rats are in the thick of it and like Hudsonville are just a regional quarterfinal victory away from an opportunity at #9 as the top seed in District 4.
#3 Rockford Rams
White. Hot. 12 straight wins against in-state foes for the Rams and they are perhaps, the State's hottest team. They have all week to gear up for the District 2 tournament where they are the top seed after slicing and dicing their way through the District. Their path to states will be anything but simple - they'll face the winner of Forest Hills vs. ELODH in the District semi's, and their regional quarterfinal crossover will likely be anything but simple, but again, Katie Clarin's Rams are en fuego. Anything is possible for this group right now.
#4 Grandville Bulldogs
Big stakes week for Grandville - their senior night had to be put on hold, and their district seed game with Jenison had to get moved a week back when their pool had to be drained. Adversity is nothing new for Aubrie Scott and Chloe Graverson's Bulldogs as they head for the postseason, and further, their game against Jenison was supposed to be played at home before their pool went down. Now they get a pivotal district see game on the road. Should they win, they may get to see Jenison again in the district semi's just four days later. The state's third place team a year ago faces a pretty tall challenge this week.
#5 East Grand Rapids Pioneers
Their first visit to the top five since the preseason poll, the Pioneers had a huge week to leap into the second seed in the gauntlet District 2. They managed an overtime win over East Kentwood in their seed game, then turned around and defeated ELODH to claim the second seed and avoid what would have been a three-way tie at 3-2 with ELODH and East Kentwood. Raheem Brown's Pioneers are much like Rockford, heating up. They're 9-1 in their last 10 games vs. teams from Michigan. The District 2 tournament should be wildly entertaining.
#6 East Kentwood Falcons
Much like East Grand Rapids, the Falcons of EK came up BIG in their district seeding tournament with a win over ELODH to claim the third seed in District 2 in their own pool. The Falcons, after a mid-season stretch of hard games, are back on track. Jarod Lane's group is one of many that feel they're very much in contention for the big prize. One problem, East Kentwood is one of eight west region teams in the top ten. Only four will get into the final eight. They will have to scrap the way they have all year to get in.
#7 Jenison Wildcats
Jenison's seven ranking is really only a result of teams behind them defeating teams in front of them. Spencer Sanders group has run into a few tough losses, but almost always seems to rebound resoundingly from them. At 16-7 on the year, they are tied for second in state victories. This week, they host Grandville in a district seed game that was supposed to be played at Grandville before their pool had to be drained. The J-Cats have the opportunity to snag the second seed with a win tomorrow night over Grandville.
#8 ELODH Co-Op
ELODH ran into East Grand Rapids and East Kentwood this past weekend and while they suffered a pair of painful losses, opportunity still knocks. Winning their District Quarterfinal pits them against Rockford in the Semi's. While they had a shot at the #2 seed, all is not lost, even with red-hot Rockford very much in their path, the talented ELODH group has every chance to stand atop the District 2 tournament if they flip the on-switch this week.
#9 Zeeland Polo
Dave Vruggink's Zee's went shorthanded into East Kentwood and lost, and then fell to #1 Hudsonville last week, so the jury is still very much out on Zeeland. They get Portage in the final district seed game this week, though their fate is sealed already - they play West Ottawa at 2 pm on Friday at home in the District Quarterfinals as the confirmed #4 seed for the right to make regionals again.
#10 Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles
Locked up the #2 seed in District 4? Check. Played more ranked opponents than anyone in their district? Check. Winning record as of now? Also check. Rebecca Godek's Eagles have, under the radar, checked a LOT of boxes headed for the postseason and have already punched their ticket to Regionals. Should they advance to the District Final, they are unbeaten against District 3 this season, so optimism for the Eagles and a trip to Canham, is within reach.
On the Line: Ann Arbor Pioneer (78), Mason (71), Chelsea (66)
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. Polls will be updated Monday's at 11 am (Girls) and noon (Boys) ET. Inquiries on the poll can be directed to the chat feature on the MWPA website. Answering times may vary.
What is On the Line?: On the Line is the first three teams outside of the MWPA Poll. Coaches vote weekly during the season.
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