Michigan
Mercyhurst
Michigan Wins Three on First Day of Division Tournament
4/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Event: Southern Division Tournament (Day 1)
Scores: #15 Michigan 21, Mercyhurst 3; #15 Michigan 15, Gannon 4;
#15 Michigan 7, #16 Indiana 5
Records: U-M (16-11, 16-1 CWPA)
Next Event: Sunday, April 7 -- vs. Grove City at Southern Division Tournament (Bloomington, Ind.), Noon
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team remained perfect against division foes by winning all three of its Southern Division Tournament games on Saturday (April 6) at Indiana University's Counsilman and Billingsley Aquatics Center.
Michigan dominated the Lakers of Mercyhurst College with an impressive 21-3 victory in the morning and stayed hot for a 15-4 victory over Gannon University in the afternoon. In the final game of the day, the Maize and Blue faced rival Indiana, the only other undefeated team in divisional play. The Wolverines defense shut the out Hoosiers in the final period to help Michigan claim a 7-5 victory.
Jen Crisman (Hudsonville Mich./Jenison HS) led the Wolverines on offense with five goals on the day. Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) and Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) contributed four goals each.
Michigan (16-11, 16-1 CWPA) came out strong in the first quarter against Mercyhurst and outscored the Lakers 9-0 in the period to take control of the game. Mandi Hagedorn (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) scored both of her two goals in the period to lead the offensive onslaught. The Maize and Blue kept the pressure high as it scored six more goals in the second stanza to take a 15-1 advantage into the locker room. The Wolverine offense would cool down in the second half, as it scored three goals in each of the final two periods. The defense remained strong, however, as Mercyhurst was able to muster only two additional goals. Maribeth Sitkowski (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) paced the Michigan offense with three goals in the contest.
U-M carried its momentum into the second contest of the tournament against Gannon. Once again, Michigan came out firing and took a 5-0 advantage after one quarter of play. Crisman scored three of her game-high four goals in the first frame, all within a three and a half minute period. The Wolverines added two more goals before halftime and shut down the Lady Knights' offense to hold a 7-0 lead at the half. After Crisman's fourth goal of the game, Gannon scored twice to cut the lead to 8-2 midway through the third period. The Maize and Blue responded by scoring once more in the third period, and then going on to beat Gannon 6-2 in the fourth.
The Wolverines returned to the pool for their final game of the day against rival Indiana. Brown and Narsai scored two goals each in the opening stanza, but Indiana scored twice to make the count 4-2 going into the second quarter. The Maize and Blue offense struggled in the second period and the Hoosiers recorded two more goals to knot the score at four going into the intermission. Michigan responded with the first two tallies in the third frame to regain its two-goal lead but the Hoosiers would not go away as Sharna Nelson attained her second goal of the contest with two minutes left in the quarter. Neither team scored again in the third and U-M held a 6-5 advantage headed into the final period. A goal with four minutes left from Casey Kerney (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park HS) put the Maize and Blue up by two once again, and the Michigan defense rose to the occasion as it held Indiana scoreless for the remainder of the game.
The Wolverines will complete the regular season tomorrow (Sunday, April 7, noon) against Grove City at the Southern Division Tournament in Bloomington, Ind. If the Wolverines win, they will be the No. 1 seed in the Division Championships on April 19-21 in Villanova, Pa.
GAME SUMMARIES
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Mercyhurst | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Michigan | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Maribeth Sitkowski 3, Megan Hayes 2, Mandi Hagedorn 2, Rebecca Godek 2, Jineane Shibuya 2, Delia Sonda, Caroline Faught, Sara Kowal, Casey Kerney, Emily Pelino, Julie Nisbet, Britten Stringwell, Stephanie Rupp, Jo Antonsen, Erin Brown. Mercyhurst Goals: Ann Markley 3.
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
| Gannon | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Jen Crisman 4, Julie Nisbet 3, Delia Sonda 2, Casey Kerney, Abbi Rowe, Maribeth Sitkowski, Rebecca Godek, Erin Brown, Sheetal Narsai. Gannon Goals: Natalie Garbowski 2, Alison Fout, Alyssa Calveric.
| Game 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Michigan | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Indiana | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Scoring
Michigan Goals: Sheetal Narsai 2, Erin Brown 2, Casey Kerney, Jen Crisman, Stephanie Rupp. Indiana Goals: Sharna Nelson 2, Krista Peterson, Melissa Pietras, Molley Fonner.
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
