Michigan
UCLA
Michigan Opens Season Saturday at UCSB Invitational
1/17/2018 4:37:00 PM | Water Polo
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THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- vs. No. 3 UCLA (1-0), 9 a.m. PST at Campus Pool
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- vs. No. 21 Cal State Northridge, 1:30 p.m. PST at Rec Center
Saturday, Jan. 20 -- vs. No. 19 UC Santa Barbara, 5 p.m. PST at Campus Pool
Sunday, Jan. 21 -- vs. No. 16 UC San Diego, 8 a.m. PST at Campus Pool
Sunday, Jan. 21 -- vs. No. 5 Arizona State, 1 p.m. PST at Rec Center
• Game Day Information: Tournament Page  | Buy Tickets
The No. 8 University of Michigan water polo team will begin its season at the UCSB Invitational this weekend (Jan. 20-21) in Santa Barbara, California, with five games scheduled against ranked teams -- two of those in the preseason top five.
THINGS TO KNOW
• Michigan is in its 18th season as a varsity program (Team 18).
• Dr. Marcelo Leonardi is in his fourth season and owns a 77-30 (.720) record at U-M.
• U-M was ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll. Michigan has been ranked in the top 10 in 37 consecutive polls.
• The Wolverines will play five games against ranked teams to open the season, including two against top 10 opponents. Last year, Michigan won 21 games over ranked foes and posted an 8-9 record against top 10 teams.
• U-M returns five of its seven starters from last season's NCAA qualifying team.
• The captains for 2018 are seniors Caroline Anderson, Laura Jimenez and Christina O'Beck.
• Anderson is 10 goals away from becoming the 11th Wolverine with 150 career goals and is five assists away from being the first to 200 career assists. She currently ranks fourth in career points, 20 shy of Julie Hyrne for third all-time. Anderson is three steals from 150 and 10 steals away from passing Terri Bukofzer for ninth most in school history. Â
• Sophomore goalkeeper Heidi Ritner ranks eighth in career saves despite just playing one season. She needs 20 to pass Morgan Turner for seventh and 41 to pass Emily Browning for sixth. Ritner can also move into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time wins list with one victory.
• Junior Kim Johnson will hit 200 career points with three more.
• Senior Laura Jimenez will hit 100 career games played with three more games.
The Teams
• No. 3 UCLA has already played one game this season, beating LMU by the score of 11-2 last Saturday (Jan. 13). The Bruins have a new head coach in 2018, as men's water polo head coach Adam Wright took over the women's program that was 24-2 last season and lost by one goal in the national championship game. Michigan is 0-18 all-time vs. UCLA.
• No. 5 Arizona State will start off the season with three games this weekend. The Sun Devils were 20-7 last season and just missed out on the NCAA Championship. The Wolverines are 5-10 against ASU all-time with one of its three wins over a top-five team coming last season.Â
• No. 16 UC San Diego has four games this weekend to start the year. The Tritons were 19-15 in the 2017 season and lost by one goal to Wagner in the play-in game of the NCAA Championship. Michigan leads the all-time series, 12-9.
• No. 19 UC Santa Barbara is the host school with five games on tap in their home pool. The Gauchos went 15-14 last season, losing their final six games. Michigan is 8-7 all-time against UCSB with eight straight victories after starting 0-7.
• No. 21 Cal State Northridge is the school Dr. Marcelo Leonardi coached before Michigan and the school where assistant coach Sydney Sonoda played her collegiate water polo. They were 12-20 last season. U-M leads the all-time series, 8-1.
