LEBANON, Ill. – The Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) announced on Tuesday, January 21st, this year's Preseason Coaches Poll, with McKendree tabbed at fourth place. Biola University was selected for first place in this year's poll.
Heading into their eighth year in the conference, the program was picked to finish fifth in the WWPA standings last season. Their highest preseason placement was the year prior, in 2023, when they were selected third out of eight teams.
The Bearcats had a solid season last year, as they went 14-11 overall and 4-2 in WWPA play. They won their first game of the WWPA Championships against California State University, Monterey Bay before succumbing in the semifinals to California State University, East Bay and then to Mercyhurst University in the third-place game to which McKendree would come out of the tournament at fourth place.
Biola won the conference championship game, 12-11 over the Cal State East Bay Pioneers, but would go on to lose to Wagner College, 14-15 in the first round of the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship.
This year, the WWPA on the women's side will feature six teams across three different time zones. Mercyhurst has made the transition to Division I status this season, while Cal State East Bay announced its discontinuation of the program this last spring.
2024 WWPA Preseason Coaches Poll
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Biola University – 24 points (4 first place votes)
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Salem University – 16 (1)
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California State University, Monterey Bay – 15 (1)
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McKendree University – 14
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Fresno Pacific University – 12
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Gannon University – 9
The McKendree women's water polo team will dive into their season this coming weekend as they will participate in the annual Hoosier Classic, which will be hosted by Indiana University and will run from Saturday, January 25th through Sunday, January 26th. Thier first matchup will come against the University of California Merced, a future WWPA member, on Saturday at 10:00 AM CT at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center (C-BAC) in Bloomington, Indiana.
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