MWPA Week 3 Girls Rankings

The Michigan Water Polo Association has announced their Week 3 Girls Rankings as teams returned to action following Spring Break.

Below is a breakdown of the week that was for each team.

#1 Hudsonville Eagles

The Eagles are still, the Kings and Queens of Polo, or at least says the poll. Both the boy's and girl's squads are ranked atop the state, and look down upon the poll from their throne. The Eagles were idle, but the four-time defending state champions have so far, dispelled any notion that taking their crown will be easy. They're already 10-0-1 overall and 8-0-1 against top ten teams - and did some of that work shorthanded early in the year. Ian Hewett's Eagles are still the standard as we re-start the campaign following Spring Break.

#2 Ann Arbor Huron River Rats

It's like the Bubonic Plague all over again: People everywhere have reason to fear Rats. These ones in particular are 9-1 (a one-goal loss to the team ahead of them is their only blemish), 7-0 in region and already 1-0 in District Action. The Rats dispatched crosstown rival Ann Arbor Pioneer (now ranked) twice, #10 Grand Blanc and #9 Ann Arbor Skyline last week. Their games have mostly, not been close. Mary Chatigny's squad benefits from some start power, though depth is starting to rise and show itself. They've certainly got their foes saying "Aw, Rats!" everytime they step on deck (Disclaimer, no one actually says "Aw Rats" anymore. It's 2022).

#3 Jenison Wildcats

Much like most of the West side, they were idle due to Spring Break - but their greatest hits are still reverberating around the state. Wins over #8 East Grand Rapids (previously #7, they also topped them by a goal when they were #7), #2 Grandville, then #8 Saline/Milan and then #6 Ann Arbor Skyline to reach this spot. Spencer Sanders moved over from Boys head coach to girls and the early returns are excellent.

#4 East Kentwood Falcons

Same story for EK as Jenison - an off week. But again, the Falcons had a meteoric rise. There were indicators of a jump for the Falcons - a mass of talent graduating on the West Side, a Falcon team that committed to offseason polo, and the equation came out positive before the break for East Kentwood. Though they lost to #1 Hudsonville but comported themselves fairly well before Spring Break. Their big win came in an upset over then #4 Rockford on March 26.

#5 Grandville Bulldogs

Sometimes Spring Break comes JUST in time for teams. Grandville may have been that team. After a tough schedule at the Grand Haven weekend tournament, they rebounded for shutout wins over West Ottawa and Forest Hills before heading into the break. They were as high as #2 at the start of the season, but down now at #5, they are looking to come out swinging. This veteran group draws #8 East Grand Rapids tonight.

#6 Rockford Rams

Katie Clarin's Rams are going to need to sprint out of the gate to open Spring Break - they get #1 Hudsonville, Zeeland, #4 East Kentwood in the next eight days. They didn't start poorly by any means. Their strength of schedule is one of the best in the state in that five of their eight games were ranked vs. ranked contests. They've played close with a team ranked #2 and #1, and suffered some narrow defeats. This is still a dangerous team.

#7 ELODH Co-Op

One of the few West Region teams that competed last week, they did basically everything they needed to do to keep their space in the polls. They took down Saline/Milan and Birmingham Groves by double digits. Not a bad restart for Madi Zink's group - and that early restart should help them fare well going back into girl's west region play coming up, where many teams were still on the beach.

#8 East Grand Rapids Pioneers

A really solid and spirited stretch going into the break started to improve a record that was only tainted by it's ridiculous strength. Back-to-back losses to now #3 Jenison may have dampened some of the resume they built, but Raheem Brown drew really good water polo out of his Pioneers before that in some narrow defeats to strong teams. This Pioneer team isn't going anywhere quietly - and they have an immediate shot to show that tonight at #5 Grandville.

#9 Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles

We told you Skyline was going to become problematic when they got some more games under their belt - and they have. They managed a solid win over then #10 Grand Blanc, took down now #10 ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer by a good margin, and ran into #2 Ann Arbor Huron on the weekend with a result they'll put behind them (they play Huron tonight again!). The GODEK EFFECT (trademark pending) is kicking in and they begin their stretch of District games this week.

#10 Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers

They flipped their narrow margin that left them behind last week's #10 Grand Blanc with a convincing win over a shorthanded Bobcat squad to reclaim their spot in the rankings. Will Hart's Pioneer's had a busy week with up and down results, but tonight's opponent will not escape their attention. It's a District seed game and a rematch with a Chelsea team that defeated them dramatically in a multi-overtime District Quarterfinal last year.

On the Line: Grand Blanc (86), Forest Hills (41), Birmingham Seaholm (19)

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.