Weekly Release #9
4/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Fri-Sun., April 26-28 -- at Eastern Championship (Princeton, N.J.)
April 19 -- vs. Georgia Washington (2:10 p.m.)
April 20 -- vs. Villanova (10:50 a.m.), Bracket Play (TBA )
April 21 -- Bracket Play (TBA) -- Championship Game at Noon
Sat-Sun., May 11-12 -- at NCAA Championship (Los Angeles, Calif.)
What's Ahead for the Wolverines
The No. 15 University of Michigan women's water polo team (21-11, 21-1 CWPA) begins its quest for its first berth in the NCAA Tournament by heading to DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J., for the Eastern Championship. The Wolverines received the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face No. 8-seeded George Washington on Friday (April 26) at 2:10 p.m. and then round out pool play against No. 12-seeded Villanova on Saturday (April 27) at 10:50 a.m.
Based on the results of its first two games in pool play, the Maize and Blue will move on to bracket play on Saturday evening. U-M will play at either 5:50 p.m. on Saturday (first place in Bracket A), or 8:10 p.m. on Saturday (second place in Bracket A) or at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday (third place in Bracket A). In order to earn the CWPA's bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines must win the Eastern Championship by placing first in their pool and then winning in both the semifinals and final. The NCAA Championship is set to take place on May 11-12 and will take place in Los Angeles, Calif., where the University of Southern California will serve as host.
The complete bracket for the Eastern Championship is available on the College Water Polo Association site.
Eastern Championship Brackets (Seedings in parentheses)
| Pool A MICHIGAN (1) George Washington (8) Villanova (12) Pool B Brown (4) Indiana (5) Grove City (9) | | Pool C Hartwick (2) Slippery Rock (7) Penn State-Behrend (11) Pool D Princeton (3) Villanova (6) Washington & Jefferson (10) |
Scouting the Opponents
George Washington -- George Washington has posted a 4-2 CWPA record this season to garner the eighth seed in the Eastern Championship. The Colonials took fourth place at the Southern Division Championships. Michigan has not faced George Washington this season. The Wolverines hold 2-0 all-time series advantage. George Washington on the Web: www.gwsports.com.
Villanova -- Villanova enters the Eastern Championship as the No. 12 seed with a 6-18 overall record. The Wildcats finished sixth at last weekend's (April 19-21) Southern Division Championships. Michigan has yet to face Villanova this season but holds a 1-0 all-time series advantage. Villanova on the Web: www.govillanova.com.
Last Season's Championship
At last year's Eastern Championship in Providence, R.I., U-M dropped its opener to Brown (7-4) but rebounded with wins over George Washington (10-6) and Indiana (8-2) to finish in fifth place.
Michigan Wins First Southern Division Title
Michigan put together an impressive four-game run to win the Southern Division Championships on April 19-21 at the Swimming Center in Villanova, Pa. The No. 2-seeded Wolverines breezed through pool play by beating No. 7-seeded Slippery Rock 22-4 and No. 11-seeded Penn State-Behrend 20-2. By winning its pool, the Wolverines guaranteed themselves a spot at the Eastern Conference Championships on April 26-28.
In its semifinal match, U-M faced rival and No. 3-seeded Indiana. Michigan went back and forth with the Hoosiers until a five-goal run that began in the third quarter and extended into the fourth put the game away for the Maize and Blue. Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS), Stephanie Morse (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) and Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) had two goals each in the 11-7 semifinal victory. Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) made a school-record 18 saves in the contest.
In the final, U-M met a familiar face in No. 1-seeded Princeton. The same two teams met in the 2001 Southern Division Championship game with the Tigers winning (11-5). The Wolverines came out early looking to prevent history from repeating itself by outscoring Princeton 5-1 in the first quarter. The Tigers battled back, however, to cut U-M's lead to 8-7 at halftime. Michigan scored two more goals in the third quarter to make it 10-7 before Princeton slimmed the U-M lead to a single goal again. The Wolverines shut out Princeton in the fourth quarter and held on for the 10-9 title victory.
Southern Division Championships Final Standings
1. MICHIGAN 2. Princeton 3. Indiana 4. George Washington 5. Bucknell 6. Villanova 7. Gannon 8. Slippery Rock 9. Grove City 10. Penn State-Behrend 11. Washington & Jefferson 12. Mercyhurst
Winning Big: Part Two
Michigan tied the school record for the largest margin of victory twice last weekend when the Wolverines defeated Slippery Rock 22-4 and Penn State-Behrend 20-2. The 18-goal margin of victory had been previously set against Mercyhurst on April 6.
Armstrong Sets New Record; Records 200th Save
Betsey Armstrong set a school record for blocks in a game when she stymied the Indiana offense with 18 blocks on April 20 at the Southern Division Championships. The previous record was also held by Armstrong, who had turned in a 16-block performance against Indiana on March 23. In addition to breaking the record, Armstrong surpassed the 200-save plateau and stands as Michigan's all-time leader in saves (233). Camille Clarendon is second on the all-time list with 174 blocks.
Sonda Has Career Day
Delia Sonda (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) turned in a career performance in the first quarter against Penn-State Behrend on April 20 when she recorded her first hat trick. Sonda also went on to score once more in the contest, and totals 16 goals on the season. Her previous single-game high was two goals, which she had accomplished seven times, most recently against Gannon on April 6.
Kerney Scores 40th Goal
Casey Kerney (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park HS) scored her 40th goal of the season in a four-goal outing against Slippery Rock on April 19. Kerney has scored 42 goals this season and holds the Michigan record for tallies in a single season.
Crisman Seeing 30/30
With eight goals scored last weekend, Jen Crisman (Hudsonville, Mich/Jenison HS) became the first Michigan player ever to total 30 goals and 30 steals in a single season. She currently has 31 goals and 32 steals this year.
Triple Double for Narsai
Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) is the only Michigan player to ever post over 20 goals, 20 assists and 20 steals in a single season. She has 22 goals, 20 assists and 23 steals this year. Erin Brown is also very close to accomplishing this feat with 36 goals, 20 assists, and 19 steals.
Making the Extra Pass
Michigan's top two scorers, Casey Kerney and Julie Nisbet, each set personal bests in assists this weekend. Kerney recorded two assists against Slippery Rock on April 19, while Nisbet had two assists aginast Indiana in the semifinal game on April 20. Kerney and Nisbet have 10 and seven assists on the season, respectively.
Sitkowski Posts First Multi-Steal Performance
Maribeth Sitkowski (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) recorded the first multi-steal game of her career when she swiped three balls against Penn State-Behrend on April 20. Sitkowski totals 11 steals this season.
Hagedorn Records Career Game vs. Lions
Mandi Hagedorn (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) set her career high with two assists vs. Penn State-Behrend on April 20. Hagedorn finished the game with two goals, two assists and two steals. She now has five assists this season.
Brown Has Career Weekend
Erin Brown tied a career high in goals with a hat trick against Slippery Rock on April 19, then set a personal best with three steals vs. Penn State-Behrend the very next game on April 20. Brown has 36 goals and 19 steals this year and ranks third and fifth, respectively, on the team.
Ball Sets Career High in Steals
Erin Ball (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS) set a career high with three steals against Penn State-Behrend on April 20 at the Southern Division Championships. She had recorded her previous high of two steals twice, most recently against Bucknell on Feb. 17. Ball has 14 steals this season.
Antonsen Ties School Record
Jo Antonsen (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura HS) tied a school record by posting four steals against Slippery Rock on April 19. Antonsen is the ninth field player to achieve the four-steal mark. The most recent player to do so is Megan Hayes (Atherton, Calif./St. Francis HS) vs. Mercyhurst (April 6). Antonsen has recorded 17 steals this season.
Collegiate Water Polo Association National Top 20 (4/17/02)
Rank, School Pts. LW 1. UCLA 99 1 2. Stanford 94 T2 Southern Cal 94 T2 4. California 86 4 5. San Diego State 71 6 San Jose State 71 T7 7. Long Beach State 70 5 8. Cal-San Diego 64 10 9. Loyola Marymount 63 T7 10. Cal-Davis 60 9 11. Hawaii 56 11 12. Cal-Santa Barbara 44 12 13. Hartwick 38 14 14. Princeton 34 13 15. MICHIGAN 32 15 16. Brown 23 19 17. Indiana 20 16 18. Cal-Irvine 17 17 19. Pacific 11 18 20. California Baptist 6 20
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
