U-M to Welcome Six Teams for Michigan Invitational

THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- vs. No. 20 Wagner (Canham Natatorium), 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- vs. Chinese National Team (Canham Natatorium), 1:15 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27 -- vs. No. 4 UCLA (Canham Natatorium), 5:15 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 -- vs. No. 9 Pacific (Canham Natatorium), 9 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 -- vs. No. 24 Marist (Canham Natatorium), 11:30 a.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 -- vs. Chinese National Team (Canham Natatorium), 12:45 p.m.
Tournament Central (Live Coverage Links)

• Game Day Information: Canham Natatorium
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The No. 8 University of Michigan water polo team will host six teams in its first home tournament of the 2018 season as 15 games will take place in Canham Natatorium this weekend (Jan. 27-28). U-M will play four teams ranked in the top 25 with two of those in the top 10. U-M will also play two games against China's national team.

THINGS TO KNOW
• Michigan opened the season with a 3-2 record at the UCSB Winter Invite in Santa Barbara, California, last weekend. The Wolverines' two losses came by a combined three goals to No. 3 UCLA (5-4) and No. 5 Arizona State (5-3).
• U-M boasts a lockdown defense, holding four of its first five opponents to five goals or less.
• The Wolverines are listed at No. 4 in the first USA Water Polo National Collegiate Rankings, based on the Freeman Ratings System. The two losses came to the teams listed No. 1 (ASU) and No. 44 (UCLA) in the new rankings.
• Dr. Marcelo Leonardi is in his fourth season and owns an 80-32 (.714) record at U-M.
• Sophomore Heidi Ritner is nine saves away from passing Emily Browning for sixth most in school history.
• Senior Caroline Anderson is six goals shy of becoming the 10th Wolverine to score 150 career goals. She is also two points shy of becoming the fourth to hit 350 career points.
• Junior Julia Sellers needs 11 goals to reach 100 in her career and 12 points to get to 150.

THE TEAMS
• No. 4 UCLA has started out the season with a 5-0 record that included a narrow 5-4 win over Michigan to start the UCSB Winter Invite. USA senior national team member Maddie Musselman scored the game-winning goal.
• No. 9 Pacific opened the season with a 21-7 victory over Cal State East Bay. The Tigers went 21-9 last season and lost to the eventual national champion Stanford in the NCAA quarterfinals.
• No. 14 Hartwick will begin its 2018 season this weekend, but will not face Michigan. The two CWPA schools will face later this season in Oneonta, New York, on March 11 and in Ann Arbor on April 14.
• No. 20 Wagner will face Michigan in its season opener. The Seahawks were 26-11 a season ago with 14-0 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They lost to UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinals.
• No. 24 Marist was at the Rainbow Invite in Manoa, Hawaii, to start the season, losing three straight games to start 0-3. The Red Foxes faced No. 4 Cal and No. 6 Hawaii on opening weekend.
• China's National Team is in the United States training and competing against collegiate teams. Last weekend at the UCSB Winter Invite, China went 5-1 with the only blemish coming against UCLA, 12-4.