The Rainbow Warriors (30-5) jumped from No. 3 to claim the No. 1 ranking, supplanting UCLA after the Bruins (29-2) slid from the top spot to No. 3. Hawaii's 30-win campaign and late-season surge made them undeniable — the poll's voters rewarded the body of work over Westwood's early-season dominance.
The biggest mover was UC Irvine. The Anteaters (21-9) rocketed from No. 6 to No. 2, leaping past Long Beach State (25-5), which fell from No. 2 to No. 4. That reshuffle — Irvine up, Beach down — signals just how tight the margins are between the top four. Stanford (26-5) also climbed, rising from No. 7 to No. 5.
Further down, Penn State (22-8) made a notable jump from No. 15 to No. 12, while Pepperdine (24-7) dropped from No. 4 to No. 6. The message is clear: nothing is settled, and the road to a title runs through Honolulu.
Data via ESPN · Summarized by D1Ball's editorial engine from official statistics.
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