Notes & Quotes: #11 Michigan 10, #14 Hartwick 7
4/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
N O T E S
Michigan head coach Matt Anderson was named the CWPA Doc Hunkler Coach of the Year. It is Anderson's second time being named Coach of the Year, he also earned the laurel in 2005.
Junior Julie Hyrne became the second Wolverine named Eastern Championship MVP in program history. She joins Betsey Armstrong (2005) as the only two to capture the honor for the maize and blue. She is the only U-M player to take home both the division MVP award and postseason MVP award in the same season in program history.
Michigan earned its third NCAA Championship birth in program history.
The Wolverines improved to 3-2 in Eastern Championship title game. Two of U-M's championship wins came against Hartwick, while the other came against Indiana.
Michigan added to its program-best wins total with its 33rd victory of the season against Hartwick.
The Wolverines extended their program-best winning streak to 27 games.
Michigan extended its winning streak against a ranked opponent to ten games. The span began on Feb. 27, the same day as the current winning streak, with a win over then-No. 16 UC-San Diego.
With a five point night, Julie Hyrne surpassed Sheetal Narsai (265, 2002-05) on the U-M all-time points list. Hyrne's 267 points trails only Shana Welch (393, 2004-07) for the program record.
Junior Mary Chatigny moved into sole possession of eighth on the U-M career goals list with her 90th and 91st career goals against Hartwick.
Senior Michelle Keeley played her final game at Canham Natatorium. The three-year letterwinner was 30-6 at home during her Wolverine career.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
Opening statement ... "I tell you, this team was so deserving. I have been telling them all year that we deserve to be the best team. They have done everything I have asked of them; they have committed of themselves both in and out of the pool and I just felt we deserved it. As soon as they understood that we had to play defense, things turned around. I told them coming into this game that the bottom line is there is no one here at this tournament that loves defense as much as we do and that's why we are going to win it."
On Julie Hyrne's performance ... "She is as big as you can spell B-I-G. It was amazing. When it is crunch time and you go to your big time players and that's what we did. After halftime, she was a one-women wrecking crew."
On looking ahead to the NCAA Championship ... "We are going there believing we are one of the top eight teams in the country. I've been telling them all year, when they believe in themselves as I do, the world is their oyster. We need to realize it is not a vacation and that we are there because we deserve to be there."
U-M Junior Julie Hyrne
On what the win means ... "I am just really excited and looking forward to (the NCAA Championship). It is what we have been working for all year and reestablishing ourselves in the East and I think we've been doing that all year. To have a final like this is just great."
On being named tournament MVP ... "It is such a great honor, but it speaks just as much to the play of my teammates as it does me. It was a team effort that created so many chances for me."
U-M Senior Michelle Keeley
On how special her senior year has been ... "It is amazing. It has been what we've been working towards for the three years that I have been here. To go undefeated in the East and go to (the NCAA Championship) is amazing. It has been an amazing weekend, graduating yesterday and winning Easterns today."
On the team's reaction in the time out after Hartwick made it 6-5 ... "I knew that we were going to pull it off. We held the lead for the whole game and I thought that was really important. I could not see them tying it up. We were all focusing on defense, we've got to hold them off and the offense will come and that is what happened."
U-M Freshman Alison Mantel
On the key to the victory ... "The key was that we really played as a team. There was no individual person who said 'I have to go do this,' we all played together -- we all played defense together, we all played offense together and looked for the best possible opportunities."
On seeing success as a freshman ... "I've never really played in these games, so I didn't really know what to expect. It is awesome to just be needed on a team and be a part of a team and to go out there and be able to play while being an integral part of its success."
On her reaction to the title ... "It is just been awesome because it is my first year here and we get to go to (the NCAA Championship) and Michelle (Keeley), our senior, gets to go in her last year. It is awesome for all of us."
