Weekly Release #6
3/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., March 29-30 -- Southern Division Tournament (Washington, Pa.)
March 29 -- vs. Slippery Rock, 10 a.m.
March 29 -- vs. Gannon, 4:15 p.m.
March 29 -- vs. Mercyhurst, 9:15 p.m.
March 30 -- at Washington & Jefferson, Noon
Sat-Sun., April 5-6 -- Arizona State Desert Challenge (Tempe, Ariz.)
April 5 -- vs. Loyola Marymount, 10 a.m.
April 5 -- at Arizona State, 5 p.m.
April 6 -- vs. San Jose State, 10 a.m.
What's Ahead for Michigan
The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (10-8, 4-0 CWPA) heads to Washington, Pa., for the second Southern Division weekend of the season on Saturday and Sunday (March 29-30). The Wolverines are 4-0 so far this year in divisional play and can clinch their third straight Southern Division regular-season title by going undefeated this weekend. Michigan has a trio of games on Saturday, facing Slippery Rock at 10 a.m., Gannon at 4:15 p.m. and Mercyhurst at 9:15 p.m. The Wolverines then wrap up their Southern Division slate on Sunday, vs. Washington & Jefferson at noon. All of the weekend's contests will take place at the Henry Memorial Center.
Scouting the Opponents
Slippery Rock -- Slippery Rock is 14-4 this season with a 3-1 mark in the conference. Head coach Jim Yeamans is in his fifth season at the helm. Shannon Holt and Karolyn Kiefer lead Slippery Rock on offense with 47 and 38 goals, respectively. Lynn Boutin handles the goalkeeper duties and has 180 saves this year. Michigan has a 4-0 all-time record against Slippery Rock. Slippery Rock on the Web: www.sru.edu/pages/5157.asp
Gannon -- Gannon started its season on a 10-game winning streak, including its first four conference games, but since has lost its last four. The Golden Knights are under head coach Don Sherman, who is in his second year. Michigan has never lost to Gannon, posting a 2-0 all-time record. Gannon on the Web: www.gannon.edu/sports/sports.ihtml
Mercyhurst -- The Lakers are 5-7 so far this season but have yet to win in the conference. Head coach Curtis Robinette is in his first season. Michigan has yet to play the Lakers this season, but the Wolverines have a 1-0 all-time mark against Mercyhurst. U-M defeated the Lakers 21-3 in the opening round of last year's Southern Divison Championships on April 6. Mercyhurst on the Web: www.mercyhurst.edu/Athletics/at.asp
Washington & Jefferson -- The Presidents are 1-4 this season with a 1-3 conference mark under fourth-year head coach Mike Orstein. The Wolverines defeated Washington & Jefferson 14-4 in the first Southern Division weekend on March 9 in Ann Arbor. Michigan has a 3-0 record all-time against the Presidents, with an average margin of victory of 14. W&J on the Web: www.washjeff.edu
Senior Night
Michigan said goodbye to its four seniors in their final home game with an 11-0 exhibition victory against Michigan State on March 14. Stephanie Morse (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS), Emily Pelino (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), Abbi Rowe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) and Delia Sonda (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) were all honored in a pregame ceremony.
Michigan, which dominated the Spartans throughout the game, held a 3-0 lead at halftime and went on to score four goals in each of the final two periods to increase its total to 11. Michigan State scored its only goal with 24 seconds to go in the game.
Rachel Burkons (Van Nuys, Calif./Harvard Westlake HS) led all scorers with a hat trick. Stephanie Rupp (Hemet, Calif./Hemet HS), Morse and Sonda added two goals each.
Southern Division Explained
The Collegiate Water Polo Association is divided into the Northern and Southern divisions. Within the Southern Division, there are the Allegheny and Mid-Atlantic Regions. Michigan competes in the Allegheny with teams from Gannon, Grove City, Indiana, Mercyhurst, Penn State-Behrend, Slippery Rock and Washington & Jefferson. Within the Allegheny Region, every team will play each other once. Each year the teams will play a different team twice to complete the eight-game conference schedule. This year, Michigan and Washington & Jefferson are scheduled for two meetings.
Following the regular season, the eight teams from the Allegheny Region will combine with the five teams from the Mid-Atlantic Region (Bucknell, George Washington, Princeton, Salem International and Villanova) for the Southern Division Championship, April 11-13. The seedings for the championships are based on divisional records.
Following the conclusion of the Northern and Southern Division Championships, the top six teams from each championship compete in the Eastern Championship, April 25-27. The winner of the Eastern Championship receives the CWPA's automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four, held this year on May 10-11 in San Diego, Calif. More information about the CWPA can be found at its website: www.collegiatewaterpolo.com
Southern Division Dominance
In Southern Division play, U-M has gone 8-0 in each of its first two seasons and is 4-0 so far this year. If the Wolverines are able to finish this year's CWPA schedule undefeated, they will claim their third consecutive Southern Division regular-season title. U-M faced Grove City two times in 2001, the Wolverines matched up with Indiana twice last season and this year Michigan plays Washington & Jefferson twice. Michigan won the Southern Division Championship and the Eastern Championship in 2002.
Last Line of Defense
Sophomore goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS), who holds every Michigan goalkeeping record, is just 26 blocks away from reaching the 500-career blocks mark. This season, Armstrong has made 10 or more saves in 10 games, and her 6.35 goals against average is the best of her career.
Countdown to 100
Senior Delia Sonda is the Wolverines career leader with 82 steals. If she can collect 18 more steals in her final year at Michigan, she will become the first Wolverine with 100 steals in her career. In her first two seasons at Michigan, Sonda notched at least 30 steals in each year. She has 16 steals so far this season.
Kerney Eclipses Assist Mark
This season sophomore Casey Kerney (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park HS) has already surpassed her freshman mark of 10 assists. Kerney has 11 assists so far this year, which ties her for third on the team. Kerney is more known for her scoring and she leads the Wolverines with 22 goals this season, including a team-best three hat tricks.
Narsai Setting Record Pace
Sophomore Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) leads the Wolverines with 29 steals this year and is on pace to break Michigan's single-season steals record of 47 set last year by Jen Crisman (2001-02). Narsai is also within four steals of matching her freshman total of 33. Earlier this season, Narsai captured the single-game record with five steals vs. UC Davis (Feb. 8).
Filling the Void
Sophomore Meg Knudtsen (Los Altos, Calif./St Francis HS) saw an increase in minutes after an injury to freshman Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) and has made the most of them. Knudtsen has already surpassed her freshman totals of seven goals and three assists and sits at 11 goals and 11 assists this year. Her 11 goals are tied for fourth best on the team and her 11 assists tie her for third among the Wolverines. Knudtsen is also shooting a team-best 57.9 percent from the field as her 11 goals have come on just 19 shots. Earlier this season, Knudtsen set the Michigan single-game assists record with seven vs. Penn State-Behrend (March 9).
Collegiate Water Polo National Top 20 (3/19/03)
Rank, School Points LW 1. UCLA 100 1 2. Stanford 95 2 3. Southern Cal 90 3 4. Long Beach State 85 4 5. California 80 5 6. San Diego State 75 6 7. Loyola Marymount 70 7 8. Hawaii 64 8 9. San Jose State 61 9 10. UC San Diego 55 10 11. UC Santa Barbara 50 11 12. MICHIGAN 45 12 13. UC Irvine 38 14 14. Indiana 35 13 15. Princeton 30 17 16. UC Davis 25 T15 Hartwick 25 T15 18. Brown 15 18 19. UC Baptist 9 NR 20. Arizona State 6 19
Contact: Paul Dickerson, Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423
