Weekly Release #5
3/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, March 14 -- vs. Michigan State (Canham Natatorium), 7 p.m. (exhibition)
What's Ahead for Michigan
The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (10-8, 4-0 CWPA) will entertain Michigan State's club team in an exhibition game on Friday (March 14) at 7 p.m. at Canham Natatorium. The contest will be the final home appearance for seniors Stephanie Morse (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS), Emily Pelino (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), Abbi Rowe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Delia Sonda (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS). This year's senior class will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Scouting the Opponents
Michigan State -- Michigan State's club team is 14-8 this season under head coach Erika Orns. MSU has won the club national championship the past two years. The Spartans lost earlier this season to Michigan, 11-6, on Jan. 26 at Canham Natatorium. Since turning varsity in 2001, the Wolverines are 6-0 all-time against Michigan State.
Michigan at the Southern Division Weekend
Michigan swept the first weekend of divisional play this year to make its conference record 4-0. The event was hosted by the Wolverines on Saturday and Sunday (March 8-9) at Canham Natatorium.
Michigan started off the weekend by cruising to an 18-2 victory over Grove City on March 8. U-M set a school record with 14 team assists in the contest and Kristin Hoogenboom (Portland, Ore./Sunset HS) scored a school-record six goals.
The most exciting match of the weekend came when the Wolverines squared off with No. 12 Indiana on March 8. Michigan dug itself into a 5-1-halftime deficit but was able to rally back, knotting the game at seven on Sheetal Narsai's (Commerce, Calif./Ball Gardens HS) penalty shot with 38 seconds left in regulation. In the second overtime period, Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Wolverines with just over a minute left to play. The marker was also the 100th of Nisbet's career, making her the first Wolverine to 100 career goals. Narsai added one more tally as time ran out to make the score 9-7 and improve Michigan's all-time record against Indiana to 11-0-1. Goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) turned in another strong performance against the Hoosiers, registering 14 blocks.
Michigan completed the sweep in the second day of the tournament (March 9) by defeating Penn State-Behrend (11-4) and Washington & Jefferson (14-4). Meg Knudtsen (Los Altos, Calif./St. Francis HS) set a school record with seven assists against Penn State-Behrend and factored in on nine of the Wolverines' 11 goals. Against Washington & Jefferson, Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) and Stephanie Morse (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) each scored her first hat trick of the season.
Thank You Seniors
This year's senior class will be the last to graduate players who made the transition from club to varsity. Sonda has served as a captain the last two seasons, while Morse and Pelino have assumed co-captain duties in 2003. Michigan has won two Southern Division Championships (2001-02), an Eastern Championship (2002) and made a Final Four appearance (2002) during their tenure here.
Home Sweet Home
Over their three varsity years, Michigan's seniors have compiled an 11-6-1 home record, including a 7-1 at Canham Natatorium this season, including an exhibition victory over Michigan State (Jan.26).
Wolverines Win 11th Straight vs. Indiana
Michigan won its 11th straight contest vs. Indiana on March 8 with a 9-7 comeback victory in overtime. Michigan was down 5-1 at half, but tied the game at seven with 38 seconds left in regulation and then won the game in the second overtime period. The Wolverines improved their all-time record against the Hoosiers to 11-0-1, although the games have been extremely competitive. Five of the series' games have gone into overtime and five have been decided by one goal.
Southern Division Domination
Michigan improved its all-time record in regular-season Southern Division games to 20-0. The Wolverines won the division in 2001 and 2002 with an 8-0 record each year and are 4-0 so far this season. Michigan will finish its 2003 Southern Division schedule with four more game at the second Southern Division weekend March 29-30 in Washington, Pa.
Sharing the Wealth
As a team, the Wolverines recorded 14 assists in a game twice last weekend, setting a new school record. Michigan had 14 assists on 18 goals vs. Grove City (March 8) and matched that total on 14 goals vs. Washington & Jefferson (March 9). The previous record was 13 assists vs. Slippery Rock (4/18/02).
Nisbet Tops the Century Mark
Julie Nisbet scored her 100th career goal last weekend. The goal came in the second period of overtime of the game against Indiana (March 8) and proved to be the game-winner as Michigan topped the Hoosiers 9-7. Nisbet went on to score once more in the tournament vs. Washington & Jefferson to push her career total to 101. She is the first Wolverine to top 100 goals in a career.
Nisbet Sets a Pair of Career Marks
Julie Nisbet achieved two career highs vs. Indiana (March 8) last weekend. Nisbet recorded four steals to set a new career high and tied a career high with four drawn kick-outs. Her previous high for steals was three, which she had recorded many times.
Armstrong Perfect vs. Hoosiers
Goalkeeper Betsey Armtstong improved her all-time record vs. Indiana to 7-0 last weekend. Most recently, Armstrong turned in a 14-save performance against Indiana (March 8). In her seven games against the Hoosiers, Armstrong has 107 saves and has never failed to reach double digits.
Just Call Her Clutch
Sheetal Narsai posted a career-high four goals in Michigan 9-7 overtime victory over Indiana (March 8). Her third goal of the contest came on a penalty shot with 38 seconds left in regulation and sent the game into overtime. She then finished out the game with the Wolverines' final score at time ran out in the second overtime. Narsai also recorded three steals and an assist in the game.
Lowering the Boom
Freshman defender Kristin Hoogenboom scored a school-record six goals vs. Grove City (March 8) in the Wolverines' first Southern Division contest of the season. The previous record of five markers was held by Melissa Karjala (2001) vs. Massachusetts (3/31/01) and Maribeth Sitkowski (2001-02) vs. Princeton (2/11/01).
Doing the Dishes
Meg Knudtsen shattered the Michigan school record with seven assists vs. Penn State-Behrend (March 9). The previous record of three assists had been achieved by a number of Wolverines. Knudtsen also scored a pair of goals in the game, factoring in on the first nine of U-M's 11 goals in the game.
Morse Good for Three
Stephanie Morse recorded her first hat trick of the season vs. Washington & Jefferson (March 9). It is the second hat trick of her career and the first since she scored three vs. Villanova (2/9/01).
Seeing Triple
Erin Brown recorded her first hat trick of the season on a perfect three-for-three shooting vs. Washington & Jefferson (March 9). It marks the fourth hat trick of her career. The sophomore also tallied three assists in the game, tying a career high.
Falarski Sees First Game Action
Sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Falarski (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont HS) played in her first games this weekend, posting 15 saves and just six goals allowed in 35 minutes of play. She also scored her first career goal vs. Washington & Jefferson (March 9) as she tried her hand at field play.
Kenagy Sets Career Mark
Corrie Kenagy (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro HS) registered a career-high three assists vs. Grove City (March 8). The junior/sophomore had previously recorded one assist many times in her career. The three assists also tied a school record until teammate Meg Knudtsen broke the record later in the tournament.
Karjala Lends a Hand
Freshman Heather Karjala (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) set a career high with three assists vs. Grove City (March 8). Karjala recorded her first career assist in the game and tied a school record that was broken later by teammate Meg Knudtsen. Karjala now has four assists this season.
Welcome to the Club
Michigan saw seven players score their first career goals last weekend. Clare Peyrebrune (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita HS), Heather Karjala, Lindsey Hitchcock (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Angela Mostardi (Elmhurst, Ill./Fenwick HS) all got on the board vs. Grove City (March 8). Michigan's three goalkeepers also saw time in the field and got on the scoreboard on the second day of the tournament (March 9). Stephanie Bongiovi-Hogner (Miami, Fla./Palmetto HS) scored vs. Penn State-Behrend and Betsey Armstrong and Jessica Falarski each scored vs. Washington & Jefferson.
Who Wants to Play Goalie
Michigan played five different Wolverines in net vs. Washington & Jefferson (March 9). Betsey Armstrong started the game with three saves in the first quarter. Jessica Falarski played the second quarter with five saves. Stephanie Bongiovi-Hogner recorded three saves in the third quarter and normal field players Melissa Goldberg (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis HS) and Rachel Burkons (Van Nuys, Calif./Harvard Westlake HS) split the fourth quarter. They each made one save.
Collegiate Water Polo National Top 20 Poll (3/5/03)
Rank, School Points LW 1. Stanford 100 1 2. Southern California 95 2 3. UCLA 89 3 4. Long Beach State 86 4 5. California 80 5 6. Loyola Marymount 73 6 7. San Diego State 72 7 8. Hawaii 60 8 9. UC San Diego 58 9 10. San Jose State 57 11 11. UC Santa Barbara 52 10 12. Indiana 45 14 13. MICHIGAN 42 13 14. Hartwick 33 12 15. UC Davis 31 15 16. Princeton 25 16 17. UC Irvine 19 18 18. Brown 17 17 19. Arizona State 19 10 20. Pacific 5 20
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
