Weekly Release #10
5/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
McDonald's Swim Center, Los Angeles, Calif. -- All times PDT
Saturday, May 11 Semifinals
Game 1 -- #4 seed Michigan (25-11) vs. #1 seed Stanford (21-2), 3:30 p.m.
Game 2 -- #3 seed Loyola Marymount (20-7) vs. #2 seed UCLA (21-3), 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 12 Championship Round
Third-Place Game -- Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3:30 p.m.
Championship Game -- Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m.
What's Ahead for the Wolverines
The University of Michigan water polo team (25-11) was awarded the fourth seed for the upcoming NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship to be held on May 11-12 in Los Angeles, Calif., at the McDonald's Swim Stadium. Southern Cal is the host school. The field is rounded out by No. 1 seed Stanford, No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount. Michigan will face Stanford in the first contest of the tournament on Saturday (May 11) at 3:30 p.m. (all times are PDT), to be followed by the UCLA-Loyola Marymount contest at 5 p.m. The two semifinal losers will play for third place Sunday (May 12) at 3:30 p.m., with the championship game following at 5 p.m.
NCAA Championship
This is the second year that the NCAA has sanctioned a women's water polo championship. The championship was previously sponsored by USA Water Polo. UCLA defeated Stanford 5-4 to claim the 2001 NCAA championship. Loyola Marymount topped Brown 9-5 to take third place at the tournament. UCLA, Stanford and Loyola Marymount are all returning to the NCAA Championship this year.
Scouting the Opponents
Stanford -- The Cardinal is the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament as it earned the at-large bid into the Final Four. Michigan will play Stanford in the first semifinal. The No. 2-ranked Cardinal competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and has a 21-2 overall record and a 10-1 line in its conference this season. Stanford received the at-large bid after it fell to No. 1 UCLA (11-7) in the MPSF Championships title game. Michigan has played Stanford on two previous occasions with both meetings coming last year. At the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, Stanford defeated U-M 17-3 on Feb. 17, 2001, and 11-3 the next day Feb. 18, 2001. Stanford on the Web: www.gostanford.com.
UCLA -- UCLA is the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Tournament as it received an automatic bid into the field by defeating No. 1 Stanford in the MPSF Championships title game (11-7). The No. 1-ranked Bruins have compiled an overall record of 21-3 and a conference mark of 10-1 during the 2002 campaign. Michigan has never faced UCLA in its two years of varsity water polo. UCLA on the Web: www.uclabruins.com.
Loyola Marymount -- The Lions are the No. 3 seed at the Final Four as they earned a spot in the tournament by knocking off No. 9 Cal-San Diego (8-4) in the Western Water Polo Association championship game. No. 7(tie) LMU has a 20-7 overall record. Michigan has opposed Loyola Marymount in each of its first two seasons. Most recently, U-M faced LMU in Los Angeles and lost 10-3 on Feb. 21, 2002. Last season, Michigan traveled to LMU and fell 9-4 on Feb. 22, 2001. LMU on the Web: www.lmulions.com.
U-M Wins First CWPA Title, Earns First NCAA Berth
Michigan team entered the Eastern Championship on April 26-28 in Princeton, N.J., as the No. 1 seed and lived up to its billing. The Wolverines cruised through pool play with wins over George Washington (9-2) and Villanova (12-4). In the semifinal contest, U-M faced rival No. 17 Indiana for the fifth time this season. At the end of regulation the score was tied at seven goals apiece. It took the teams the two mandatory overtime sessions plus three more sudden-death periods to determine who would advance to the title game. With 42 seconds left, Julie Nisbet was fouled outside the seven-meter mark. She immediately fired the ball and sent the Wolverines into the championship game against No. 14 Hartwick. The game took 42:18 and was the longest contest in CWPA history.
Michigan held a two-goal lead heading into the final period of the title game against Hartwick, but the Hawks were able to tie the game and force the Wolverines into another overtime contest. After the first overtime frame, U-M gained a one-goal advantage. Hartwick shut out the Wolverines in the second extra session and re-tied the game to send it into sudden death. This time it would take only one sudden-death period for the Wolverines to prevail as Jen Crisman flipped the ball over her head from the hole set to give the Maize and Blue the win and its first CWPA championship.
Goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong was named the tournament and championship game MVP. She set a school record with 19 saves against the Hoosiers and made two key penalty shot saves in the title game. Nisbet was also selected to the all-tournament first team and Crisman and Erin Brown were named to the second team.
Final Eastern Championship Standings
1. MICHIGAN 2. Hartwick 3. Indiana 4. Princeton 5. Massachusetts 6. Brown 7. Harvard 8. George Washington 9. Iona 10. Saint Francis 11. Bucknell 12. Villanova
First CWPA Championship, First NCAA Tournament
By beating Hartwick (April 28) in the Eastern Championship title game, the Maize and Blue achieved two team firsts as it clinched the program's first conference championship and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament bid.
Lucky Number 13
Michigan is currently on a 13-game unbeaten streak, which began with a 9-7 overtime victory over Indiana (March 23). Over the span, the Maize and Blue has defeated six top 20 opponents, including Indiana, Princeton and Hartwick. U-M's longest winning streak at 15 games was set last season from March 3, 2001, to April 7, 2001.
Armstrong Owns All Michigan Goalie Records
Freshman goalie Betsey Armstrong set the record for most saves in a game with her 19 saves in the sudden-death overtime match against Indiana (April 27). Armstrong also set the single-game record for most steals by a goalie in a game with six against Brown (March 2). With 291 saves, seven assists, 34 steals, 895 minutes played and a 6.38 goals against average, Armstrong tops the Michigan record book in all major statistical categories for goalies.
Michigan Cleans Up at Eastern Championship
Four Wolverines received all-tournament honors at the Eastern Championship. Goalie Betsey Armstrong and 2-meter Julie Nisbet were both on the first team, while 2-meter defender Jen Crisman and utility Erin Brown were second-team honorees. Armstrong was also named the tournament and championship game MVP.
Wolverines Receive Conference Honors
Michigan's Julie Nisbet, Erin Brown and Betsey Armstrong were selected to the Collegiate Water Polo Association's All-Southern Division first team. Nisbet lead the Wolverines in scoring with 46 goals and in kick-outs drawn with 43. Brown landed in the top five on the team in goals (41), assists (23), steals (20) and kick-outs drawn (36). Armstrong holds every Michigan goalkeeping record including saves in a game (19) and saves in a season (291).
Flawless Victory
Michigan has gone unbeaten in its first two years against Southern Division rival Indiana, including a 5-0 mark in 2002. The Wolverines are 9-0-1 all-time against the Hoosiers, the only other Big Ten school with varsity water polo. Michigan has played the Hoosiers to overtime on four occasions with the latest confrontation leading to an 8-7 quadruple overtime win in the Eastern Championship semifinal (April 27) that lasted 42:18.
Crisman Seeing 30/30, Sets Steal Record
Jen Crisman became the first Michigan player ever to total 30 goals and 30 steals in a single season. She has pumped in 35 goals while collecting a record 43 steals. The fifth year senior is in her first full year playing varsity water polo. Crisman was previously a seven-time NCAA All-American on the Michigan swimming team.
Triple Double for Narsai and Brown
Sheetal Narsai and Erin Brown are the only Michigan players to ever post more than 20 goals, 20 assists and 20 steals in a single season. Narsai has 27 goals, 25 assists and 28 steals this year. Brown has 41 goals, 23 assists and 20 steals.
Michigan Coaches in the National Spotlight
Head coach Amber Drury-Pinto was announced as the head coach of the women's junior national team on April 24 for the 2002-03 season. Drury-Pinto has compiled a 46-22-1 (.667) record at Michigan in two years as the program's head coach. Assistant Bernice Orwig will be competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that is preparing for the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. Orwig earned a silver medal as the starting goaltender on the 2000 Olympic team that competed in Sydney, Australia.
Collegiate Water Polo Association National Top 20 (5/1/02)
Rank, School Pts. LW 1. UCLA 100 2 2. Stanford 95 1 3. Southern Cal 90 3 4. Long Beach State 85 7 5. California 80 4 6. San Jose State 74 6 7. San Diego State 68 5 Loyola Marymount 68 8 9. Cal-San Diego 60 9 10. Cal-Davis 54 10 11. Hawaii 50 11 12. MICHIGAN 47 13 13 Hartwick 38 14 14. Indiana 32 17 15. Cal-Irvine 29 18 16. Cal-Santa Barbara 26 12 Princeton 26 15 18. Massachusetts 12 NR 19. Pacific 9 19 20. Brown 4 16 California Baptist 4 20
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
