West Virginia and Wake Forest made the biggest progressions in Soccer America's College Women's Top 25 following impressive victories over the weekend.
The Mountaineers jumped from 22nd to 13th after beating Virginia in the Cavaliers' Soccer Classic and whipping James Madison, which had begun the season impressively. Wake Forest moved from 25th to 15th after winning its tournament with victories over previously unbeaten Loyola Marymount and USC to improve to 7-0.
Duke (from 15th to 11th) and Tennessee (from 16th to 12th) also made significant jumps following impressive wins. The Blue Devils won Florida's Gator Invitational by whipping previously unbeaten Central Florida and topping the host in overtime. The Lady Vols, whose only loss this season has been against Duke, won the Clemson Invitational with victories over Western Carolina and the host Tigers.
Connecticut moved from 18th to 14th despite being held to a draw by unbeaten Villanova. The Huskies rebounded by winning Wisconsin's tournament.
North Carolina remained in the top spot following wins over Texas A&M and Texas at the Houston College Challenge, and Stanford stayed at No. 2 after beating St. Mary's. Texas, which has lost only to the Tar Heels and Cardinal, remained No. 3, and UCLA moved to No. 4 after winning Hawaii's Outrigger Classic.
Portland is No. 5, followed by California, Santa Clara, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Penn State. Cal moved up a spot after beating Santa Clara, which dropped from fourth to seventh; Notre Dame returned to the Top 10 after winning Maryland's Fila Classic.
Teams that fell include Virginia (eighth to 16th), Clemson (12th to 17th), Nebraska (13th to 19th) and Washington (14th to 21st).
Denver is the only newcomer to the Top 25, moving into the 25th spot after beating Washington and falling to Portland in a close game in the Pilots' Nike Invitational. The Pioneers' results this season include a tie with then-ranked Arizona State and a tie at San Diego.
SMU dropped out of the rankings after one week following a 1-0 loss at unbeaten Oklahoma.
9/16 Team (Record) 9/9
1 North Carolina (5-0-1) 1
2 Stanford (4-0-0) 2
3 Texas (3-2-0) 3
4 UCLA (4-1-0) 5
5 Portland (5-2-0) 6
6 California (4-1-1) 7
7 Santa Clara (3-2-0) 4
8 Texas A&M (3-3-0) 10
9 Notre Dame (4-2-0) 11
10 Penn State (3-1-1) 9
11 Duke (4-2-0) 15
12 Tennessee (5-1-0) 16
13 West Virginia (5-1-0) 22
14 Connecticut (5-1-1) 18
15 Wake Forest (7-0-0) 25
16 Virginia (2-2-1) 8
17 Clemson (4-3-0) 12
18 Pepperdine (5-0-1) 20
19 Nebraska (2-2-1) 13
20 USC (2-3-1) 21
21 Washington (3-2-1) 14
22 Michigan (5-1-0) 19
23 Auburn (6-0-0) 23
24 Florida (3-3-0) 24
25 Denver (2-1-2) NR