Northwestern continued its perch on top of the national rankings by taking all 20 votes for a fourth straight week while the poll remained consistent overall with all 20 ranked teams from last week appearing in this week’s poll. The ALC stretches its record six schools for a fourth consecutive poll, with three of them appearing in the upper half of the rankings. The ACC has five schools in the top-20, while the Big East and the Ivy League both claim four schools each. In the ALC, the Wildcats remain on top at No. 1, with Florida holding at No. 5 and Ohio State moving back into the top-10 at No. 10. Penn State moves to No. 13, while Vanderbilt sits at No. 17 and Johns Hopkins holds at No. 19. The ACC also has three schools in the top-10, led by North Carolina at No. 3. Maryland falls right behind at No. 4, and Duke remains at No. 6. Virginia falls to No. 12 and Boston College remains in the top-20 at No. 20. The Big East has four schools in the poll, with two in the top-10. Syracuse holds at No. 2 and Notre Dame moves up to No. 8. Loyola starts off the second half of the poll at No. 11, while Georgetown remains at No. 14. The Ivy League claims four schools in the top-20, two of which reside in the top-10. Penn moves up to No. 7 and Dartmouth also jumps, landing at No. 9. Cornell rises to No. 15 and Princeton remains at No. 18. Massachusetts from the Atlantic-10 moves up one spot to No. 16. The week starts out with No. 2 Syracuse taking on No. 9 Dartmouth in New York. On Wednesday, No. 4 Maryland travels to No. 18 Princeton and No. 12 Virginia faces No. 19 Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. On Friday, a top-three matchup takes place in Illinois as top-ranked Northwestern faces No. 3 North Carolina. A quartet of games between ranked teams is scheduled for Saturday, including three conference games. No. 2 Syracuse takes on No. 14 Georgetown in Big East action, while No. 5 Florida welcomes No. 17 Vanderbilt in ALC play. A top-10 tilt is on the line in the Ivy League as No. 7 Penn travels to face No. 9 Dartmouth while No. 15 Cornell welcomes No. 11 Loyola. On Sunday, four ALC teams are in action, with No. 1 Northwestern hosting No. 19 Johns Hopkins and No. 10 Ohio State welcoming No. 13 Penn State. 

Also receiving votes: James Madison, Stony Brook, Towson.
This is the seventh regular-season IWLCA poll of the 2012 season; the next poll will be released on April 17.