(Los Angeles Team Handball Club poses with their gold medals from the Valley of the Sun tournament in February. How high did they rise with this tournament win?)
With all games in up to March 1st, we have another Top 25 ranking to share. For the first time since last season, NYC Team Handball Club is top of the table!
How did that happen?
NYC hasn’t lost a game since October. After their sweep at their home matchday in NYC, the Gotham Boys clinched the NTHL D1 Championship (again) on the 29th of February in Boston, MA. They’ve started to hit their stride, and the voters rewarded them for it.
Previous #1 team New York Athletic Club (NYAC) shockingly lost their semifinal game to Army West Point Gold at the Carolina Blue Cup. Despite the big win over possible Elite Division team Saskatchewan Juniors, the voters saw fit to drop them to #2.
San Francisco CalHeat? After dominating the Valley of the Sun tournament, the team from Fremont, CA came up surprisingly short to Los Angeles Team Handball Club (LATHC) in the finals. The big win from LATHC was enough to keep San Francisco CalHeat from rising in the standings. They’re #3 now.
Army West Point Black, with a dominant victory over Boston Team Handball and a close loss to #1 NYC moves up to #4 in the Top 25. The win and the quality loss were enough to sway opinions in the voters’ minds.
Alberta – idle through the month of February (a youth team went to Valley of the Sun) – sits pretty at #5.
LATHC’s big win over San Francisco CalHeat makes them one of the largest risers this season, moving from #17 to #6 in the country. Following them are Chicago Inter, Air Force Invitational Runner-Up Dallas THC, Air Force Invitational Champion (and biggest mover of the month) USAFA, and Boston.
Here’s the rest of the Top 25:
| RANK | TEAM | W | T | L | Change (+/-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NYC | 10 | 0 | 1 | +2 |
| 2 |  NYAC | 9 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| 3 |  San Francisco CalHeat | 15 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 |  Army WPB | 9 | 0 | 4 | +3 |
| 5 |  Alberta | 7 | 0 | 3 | +1 |
| 6 |  Los Angeles THC | 5 | 0 | 3 | +11 |
| 7 |  Chicago Inter | 7 | 2 | 7 | -3 |
| 8 |  Dallas | 5 | 0 | 3 | +3 |
| 9 |  USAFA | 9 | 0 | 13 | +14 |
| 10 |  Boston | 4 | 0 | 3 | -5 |
| 11 |  Carolina | 14 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| 12 |  Ohio State-Scarlet | 10 | 1 | 1 | +10 |
| 13 |  Houston Firehawks | 4 | 0 | 4 | -5 |
| 14 |  HC Toronto | 2 | 1 | 1 | +3 |
| 15 |  Minnesota | 6 | 0 | 3 | -1 |
| 16 | NYC2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -6 |
| 17 | San Francisco CalHeat II | 3 | 0 | 2 | +4 |
| 18 | Carolina Blue | 9 | 0 | 2 | -3 |
| 19 |  Milwaukee United | 6 | 0 | 3 | NEW |
| 20 | NYAC II | 2 | 1 | 1 | -7 |
| 21 | NYC3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | +3 |
| 22 |  Saskatchewan Juniors | 2 | 0 | 3 | NEW |
| 23 | Army WPG | 4 | 0 | 9 | NEW |
| 24 |  PITT Panthers | 7 | 0 | 1 | -5 |
| 25 (T) |  Columbus Armada-Nina | 6 | 1 | 4 | -9 |
| 25 (T) |  West Virginia | 4 | 0 | 3 | -13 |
