On Wednesday the second batch of CSCAA Top 25 rankings were released. The top spot hasn’t, and likely won’t, switch from belonging to the Stanford Cardinal.

Rankings create something to talk about, especially when teams climb an outstanding amount in the polls in just two meets — such as Alabama checking in at No. 11 after being previously unranked.

As other teams stumble in their early meets, the preseason polls are being corrected and it is becoming evident who should be in the rankings.

Trending Upward

No. 7 Tennessee

The Tennessee women have faced a loaded schedule so far. Of their six matchups, five have been top 15 teams. Opening the year at No. 14, the Volunteers took an early loss to then-No. 15 Auburn while also beating No. 12 Wisconsin in the same meet.

Following that nine-point loss to the Tigers, Tennessee got hot and shredded through its next three opponents: No. 8 Indiana, No. 15 Kentucky, and No. 11 Louisville. With four wins over top competition, the Vols moved to seventh in the latest poll.

Tennessee's three most recent wins are attributed to the five-spot jump. Five was the third-largest jump in this poll behind SEC foes Florida, which previously dropped six spots and then rose to No. 14, and poll newcomer Alabama.

Butterflier Erika Brown has made the biggest contribution for Tennessee with her 100 butterfly, which ranks third nationally. 

The Vols raced only Kentucky and Indiana at home. All others, including UNC Wilmington, were on the road. They have the potential to continue to climb later in the season. Tennessee will face Florida, Georgia, and non-conference foe Virginia after the new year.

No. 11 Alabama

No team climbed more than the Tide. Unranked in the two previous polls, Alabama jumped to 11th after a convincing 36-point victory over its in-state rival, No. 9 Auburn.

The road upset marked the second win for the Crimson Tide this year, moving them to 2-1. Their other win came on the road against Division II Delta State.

Alabama did lose at home to conference opponent Florida. The Gators won that meet on a Wednesday afternoon by 32 points. Florida is another team that made a solid jump in the polls but still landed three spots behind the Tide. 

Trending Downward

No. 18 Wisconsin

The Badgers built a tough schedule full of ranked opponents and their current record shows it. Wisconsin opened the season ranked No. 12 and has since fallen to No. 18. It was a gracious ranking after losing in 6 of 7 outings.

Every loss came against a ranked opponent, with the Badgers' sole win coming over unranked Penn State this past weekend. 

Wisconsin's declining spot in the polls is related more to its margin of defeat than its number of losses. Four of the Badgers' meets were decided by between 50 and 60 points. Those losses came against No. 15 Auburn, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 4 Georgia, and No. 13 NC State

Wisconsin’s closest loss came against Big Ten rival and No. 17-ranked Minnesota by 30 points. In that same meet, No. 3 Michigan beat the Badgers by 117 points.

This weekend poses a great opportunity for Wisconsin to get two wins against in-state team Wisconsin-Green Bay and Big Ten foe Northwestern.

Unranked Missouri

The Tigers opened the year No. 11 in the preseason poll. After four meets, they have fallen hard.

Missouri’s best and only win came on the road against Southern Illinois. That was a 153-point victory that misrepresents what has happened in the Tigers' other three meets. That same day in Carbondale, IL, Missouri lost to No. 15 Kentucky.

Mizzou's other two losses came at home against unranked opponents. Fellow SEC teams Arkansas and South Carolina beat Missouri to start the year. That win has boosted South Carolina’s resume.

The Hannah Stevens-led team has struggled to win dual meets to open the year. The Tigers will have four more in the new year against No. 3 Texas A&M, SMU, Missouri State, and Drury (D-II). 

What Does It Mean?

The reality is that while in-season polls are a nice tip of the cap to ranked teams, they don't hold a lot of water (pun intended) to a team's true value in a championship-meet setting.

Teams that are ranked highly in November are in no way, shape, or form guaranteed to be favorites at NCAAs, and teams that are sliding down the rankings ladder are in no way, shape, or form going off the deep end (pun also intended). Moral of the story? Take it all with a grain of salt.

By Ben Colin