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The Michigan Water Polo's week 6 top ten poll has been released after several high ranked match ups last week across the state.
Next week, we'll do the "Week In a Word" style poll for the girls. Until then, here's your breakdown of this week in polo for the top ten.
#1 Hudsonville Eagles
All of one week beneath number one for Hudsonville seems to have energized them. It also helps that they played the team they were behind head-to-head and well, defeated them (8-7 over formerly #1 Ann Arbor Huron) for their second win this season over the Rats. Ian Hewett's group battled past them and some of last weekend's demons to reclaim their spot up here after defeats of Jenison, Skyline and a tie with Evanston (IL). Pretty impressive stuff for the defending champs.
#2 Ann Arbor Huron River Rats
It's a little hard to know what to make of the weekend - several of their key athletes missed Saturday's portion of the tournament (per the Huron coaching staff) due to academic pursuits (hooray! Student-Athletes!) - so we can call those "Incomplete" analysis on what Huron is. They did play a tight game with Hudsonville to open the weekend in what could be a preview of things to come. With their full roster, they managed solid wins over #4 ELODH and Chelsea before succumbing to four opponents on the weekend, though that included #2 Hudsonville, #3 Rockford and Evanston (IL). Mary Chatigny's group gets back to full strength this week so we can see a bit more about the Rat Pack.
#3 Rockford Rams
That's back-to-back really good weeks for Rockford who, don't look now, have won nine straight against Michigan foes, seven of those were ranked at that time. Katie Clarin's Rams are absolutely en fuego after wins over Huron, East Grand Rapids, and Skyline on the week. Now the real fun begins - they head to Jenison tomorrow (May 3) before a date with #4 ELODH which should be extremely telling as the battle for District Two's first chapter will be written Thursday.
#4 ELODH Co-Op
Stationary in the polls after an interesting week, ELODH visited Ann Arbor twice but didn't walk out with a win. They were tied by #10 Ann Arbor Pioneer on April 26 in a classic Will Hart low-scoring game (4-4 final) and went to #1 Ann Arbor Huron the next day. Luckily for Madi Zink's squad, this week, she sees three top ten foes with the opportunity to get right back on track - including a pivotal District tilt with #3 Rockford as well as seed games with East Kentwood and East Grand Rapids.
#5 Grandville Bulldogs
Plain and simple, they took care of business this week. Aubrie Scott and Chloe Graverson's Dawgs danced through a week with a long road trip and picked up their state-leading FIFTH shutout of the year (that's insanity) and picked up a district win at now-ranked Zeeland before an OK Conference win at #7 East Kentwood to tidy up what was an unbeaten week. This week, they venture to Grand Haven and host crosstown rival #6 Jenison as they look to snare the second seed in District 1
#6 Jenison Wildcats
Jenison wasn't overly busy last week - they picked up a District win at Grand Haven before a District loss hosting Hudsonville - but now the fun truly begins. Spencer Sanders’ Cats host Rockford tomorrow (May 3) and travel to rival and current #5 Grandville. What’s on the line? The top two seeds in District 1 are automatically qualified for regionals and don’t play a first round District game. If Grandville gets a win at Grand Haven, that is what Jenison and Grandville play for.
#7 East Grand Rapids Pioneers
The Pios picked up a huge District win in sudden death overtime over former #7 East Kentwood before falling narrowly to Rockford on Friday evening. They rebounded for a win over Zeeland and Ann Arbor Skyline (both currently ranked) as Raheem Brown’s Pio’s chart their path towards another postseason run. They get Mason and #4 ELODH next weekend at their seeding tournament with the opportunity to vault their way up in District 2.
#8 East Kentwood Falcons
After a narrow overtime district loss to East Grand Rapids, East Kentwood turned around two nights later and took down Forest Hills for a District win. They later fell to #5 Grandville before heading East and being the tournament wrecking ball at Saline, with three straight wins in which they scored 44 times, allowing just eight tallies. Jarod Lane’s group gets Zeeland, #4 ELODH and Mason this week.
#9 Zeeland Polo
They have returned! Dave Vruggink’s Zeeland squad vaulted up to ninth after a strong tournament weekend in which they picked up a narrow win over #9 Ann Arbor Skyline. They also had a district win at West Ottawa. They big result was a win over a shorthanded #1 Ann Arbor Huron, which came by six goals. Regardless of who was or was not in the water, that’s a confidence boost. They’ll try and ride that through games with East Kentwood and Hudsonville this week.
#10 Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles
Rebecca Godek’s squad (probably) set a state record for furthest apart played games on a single day in MWPA history. They played a district seed game at 2:00 pm at Saline, they furthest south school in the MWPA, then traveled to Rockford, the furthest north school in the MWPA (and on the west side) to play a HIHGLY competitive tournament. They didn’t get the results they wanted at said tournament, but did win three times on the week including a pair of District games. They get Saline/Milan in a District game Thursday evening on the road.
On the Line: Ann Arbor Pioneer (67), Mason (61), Chelsea (30)
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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.