MWPA Announces Week 6 Boys Top 10

The Michigan Water Polo Association (MWPA) has announced their week 6 boys top ten rankings.

A full breakdown of the week that was is below.

#1 Hudsonville Eagles

The Eagles shutout West Ottawa 15-0 in the District Semi Finals and handled #6 Grand Haven 10-5 in the District Championship game where the Buccaneers had a few late tallies to crunch the margin a bit. Josh Ahrendt's squad sits again, unanimous #1 this week after cruising through a District championship run over the course of about seven hours on Friday at Zeeland. They draw Hotel in the Regional Quarterfinals as their bid to repeat as State Champions continues.

#2 Rockford Rams

The Rams had little trouble rolling through to win the boys District 2 championship, outscoring opponents 33-9 including a 15-3 win over #7 East Grand Rapids in the championship game. The Rams, like the Eagles, had a path of two games starting six hours apart and appeared less than encumbered by the stretch. Craig Peterman's Rams get West Ottawa at the West Regional Quarterfinals for their bid to qualify for the state tournament.

#3 Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers

Ready for a Pioneer reference? Ever play a perfect game of Oregon Trail? As in your wagon didn't sink, your full family made it to Oregon, no snake bites or shortages of food? Don Packard and company just did. They won the District 4 championship, defeating Dexter 8-6, whom the Pioneers had lost back-to-back meetings with. You almost want to see them play again (they're 2-2 on the season). The second seeded Pioneers swung the upset after downing current #10 Ann Arbor Skyline 12-5 in the semi's. Not only did the Pioneers swing the championship, they did it having played the LATTER of the two semi-final games with less rest.

#4 Dexter Dreadnaughts

The Dreadnaughts caught the short end of the District 4 championship game but consider it was much like the rest of their contests with Ann Arbor Pioneer (close games) and you remember that the Dreads are still in excellent position and playing strong polo at the best time of the year to do it. Brian Semple's Dreadnaughts get Lake Orion in the Regional Quarterfinals, though, who pulled an upset on Birmingham Seaholm with a resounding 12-3 win over the Maples in the District 3 third place game.

#5 Birmingham Groves Gators

Bob Sala and the Gators hit the gas in the District 3 tournament, defeating Lake Orion 15-3 in the semi-finals before a 12-5 District Championship win over Grand Blanc who had befuddled Groves into a one-goal game earlier this year. The Gators continue to trend upwards after a strong middle portion of the schedule, and will take on Ann Arbor Huron, who the Gators defeated a few weeks ago for the right to go to the state tournament.

#6 Grand Haven Buccaneers

The Buccaneers had to put up a fight with Zeeland to take the District 1 semi-finals 10-8, and the physical nature of the game and shorter turnaround to the District Championship may have left the Buccos low on gas for their match-up with Hudsonville, but give Bill Hamm and company a lot of credit: they did NOT stop battling. They scored late against Hudsonville, and while they did fall, they got the second seed and avoided having to play to avoid the opposite district's top seed. The Buccaneers draw a very interesting Okemos squad who played some excellent polo this past weekend in the Regional Quarterfinals.

#7 East Grand Rapids Pioneers

When EGR jumped out to a 7-2 lead on Okemos in the District Semi-Finals, it looked like they could cruise to the District Final. Okemos roared back to life and forced overtime. Give coach Raheem Brown A LOT of credit, becuase once a freight train gets going it's very hard to slow it down. He settled his Pioneers in for overtime where they went off for three VERY quick goals. In the end the Chiefs made it a one-goal game but the Pioneers snagged a top-two finish in District 2 and get Zeeland in the Regional Quarterfinals.

#8 Grand Blanc Bobcats

The Bobcats had to claw (SORRY WE HAD TO) their way past Birmingham Seaholm in the District Semi-Finals but won it 9-8. They secured a top two Regional seed with the win before falling to the red-hot Groves Gators in the final (at Groves). Dan Command's squad continues to battle and get important wins, and now they get #10 Ann Arbor Skyline for the right to go to the State Tournament.

#9 Okemos Chiefs

Man, you have to feel a little for what Okemos did against East Grand Rapids in the District Semi-Finals in the sense it didn't result in a win. They erased a five-goal deficit and forced overtime in an ELECTRIC district semi-final contest with East Grand Rapids, then nearly completely erased a three-goal overtime deficit before falling 12-11. They took care of Hotel 15-10 in the third place game playing just hours after the OT Loss and draw #6 Grand Haven for the right to play in the state tournament.

#10 Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles

Ashley Hower's Eagles had a tough District tournament slate and set of circumstances. They didn't play their first game due to a forfeiture, then fell 12-5 to Ann Arbor Pioneer in the sem-finals and drew an Ann Arbor Huron squad who was fighting to avoid the fourth spot. The Eagles came out on top 9-8 in the third place game and draw the Grand Blanc Bobcats in the regional quarterfinals.

On the line: Zeeland, Lake Orion, Ann Arbor Huron

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's during the mid day. Inquiries on the poll can be directed to the chat feature on the MWPA website. Answering times may vary.