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The defending NCAA champion Stanford women's water polo team -- not too surprisingly -- has been ranked No. 1 in the country in the Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association (CWPCA) preseason Top 20 and No. 1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Cardinal, which went 28-1 last season en route to winning its second NCAA crown, received 100 points in the CWPCA poll and collected the maximum possible 49 points and seven first-place votes to top the MPSF poll.

California, last year's national runner-up, was second in both polls -- getting 94 points in the former and the remaining first-place vote and 39 points to finish second in the MPSF.

USC and UCLA were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in both polls. San Jose State was ranked No. 5 in the CWPCA and No. 6 in the MPSF.

Stanford enters the 2012 season led by second-team All-American and senior driver Alyssa Lo (42 goals last year) and All-American honorable mention and sophomore driver Kaley Dodson (27 goals), plus 34-goal scorer Pallavi Menon, who enters her senior season.

The Cardinal will be without first-team All-American two-meter players Annika Dries and Melissa Seidemann in 2012, as each player has taken a leave of absence from school to train with the U.S. Senior National Team in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

Dries, the Peter J. Cutino Award winner and team scoring leader with 65 goals last season, and Seidemann, a Cutino Award finalist who scored 51 goals in 2011, will both return to the Cardinal for the 2013 season.

Lost to graduation last June was driver Kim Krueger, who scored 36 goals in 2011 and was named All-America honorable mention.

The trio of junior Kate Baldoni and freshman Emily Dorst will vie to replace 2011 first-team All-American goalie Amber Oland in the cage this season. Baldoni saw action in 17 games last year, averaging 7.35 saves per game while limiting opponents to just 4.04 goals per game.

Also returning for the Cardinal in 2012 are juniors Cassie Churnside and Jillian Garton, who scored 19 and 18 goals last year, respectively.

Stanford will open the 2012 season with two games at the California Speedo Invitational in Berkeley on Jan. 28. The Cardinal will take on No. 11 Loyola Marymount at 10:30 a.m. before closing the day against No. 16 UC Davis at 4:30 p.m.

The Cardinal will host its annual Stanford Invitational at Avery Aquatic Center Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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