Once a staple of the college season, the dual meet did a disappearing act in the ’90s, and with it went T&FN’s annual Dual Meet Rankings, compiled by John Wenos.
The T&FN definition of a “dual” is a scored meet between four or fewer teams. Teams are ranked on their record and marks achieved during the regular season. Bonuses can be earned through a tough and/or extensive dual-meet schedule. Rankings and records reflect a combined indoor/outdoor season.
But duals have made a little bit of a comeback in recent years, partly due to the current NCAA Championships qualifying system which has removed the pressure to achieve big marks and partly because some forward-thinking major-program coaches have recognized the value to the health of the sport of true team competition.
I thought it was high time to bring the Dual Meet Rankings back. Today, the women’s top 25; tomorrow the men.
Led by Oregon, the Pac-12 swept the top 3 spots and 5 of the top 8 (numbers in parentheses are this year’s win-loss records):
1. Oregon (3-0)
2. Stanford (1-0)
3. Arizona State (2-0)
4. LSU (1-0)
5. Arizona (1-1)
6. Kansas (1-0)
7. Washington (3-1)
8. Texas A&M (1-3)
9. Tennessee (2-0)
10. Ohio State (0-0-1)
11. Michigan (0-0-1)
12. California (0-1)
13. BYU (2-0)
14. USC (2-1)
15. Washington State (2-1)
16. UCLA (0-6)
17. Indiana (1-0)
18. Kent State (1-0)
19. Illinois State (2-0)
20. Sac State (1-0)
21. North Dakota State (2-0)
22. Western Michigan (4-0)
23. Indiana State (3-2)
24. Boise State (0-2)
25. Missouri (0-1)
May 22, 2012