2006 WPW Western Championship -- Notes & Quotes
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
N O T E S
For the second straight season, Michigan fell to Indiana twice in the regular season but came out victors in the CWPA Western Division Championship. This also marks the fifth straight season the Wolverines have won the division championship. The Wolverines won the Southern Division Championship in 2002 and 2003. The past three titles have been named the Western Division Championship.
Carrie Frost and Megan Hausmann tied for the team lead in steals with four apiece.
Megan Hausmann's game-winning goal in the third period came on a four-meter penalty shot that was drawn by Sharayah Hernandez.
Shana Welch finished the weekend as the team's leading scorer with eight points and one assist in three games. Megan Hausmann, Kristin Hoogenboom and Kristen Davis tied for the team lead in assists as they each tallied four in three games.
Julie Hyrne had the only multi-point game as she handed out the only Wolverine assist to go along with her second-period goal.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On winning the CWPA division championship for the fourth straight season ... "This was outstanding because 11 out of 18 players on this trip are new and haven't been through this before. Part of the tradition we try to establish here is to go one weekend at a time and don't look behind and don't look ahead and the girls focused on this weekend. They are going to enjoy themselves for the rest of today and tomorrow and then tomorrow evening we start working again because we have three more games to play to win the East Regional."
On shutting down Indiana's leading scorer, Janis Pardy ... "I think it was us knowing what they like to do. If we decide to focus on that part of their game, the game will be more enjoyable for us. It's always a battle when you play Indiana and the last couple of games have been low scoring. We just ratcheted up our defense a little bit more. (Kristen) Davis had an outstanding game and we were good in the ball control area and that is why we led from the start and were able to dictate what they wanted to do; meaning they were behind and had to push it a little and we were able to play that much better defensively because we knew what they had to do to try to score."
On the veterans leading the way this weekend ... "Our older girls stepped it up offensively but at the same time, in that fourth quarter, I had four freshmen in there and the final play that Indiana ran, our two freshmen read it well and came up with a huge steal which allowed us to run out the clock. So it was a combination of our experienced players and our freshmen players both taking a step in their development. Not only as people, but as team players as well."
