Michigan
Cal State Northridge
Wolverines Return to Southern California for Third Tournament
2/6/2019 4:41:00 PM | Water Polo
THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., Feb. 9-10 -- at Triton Invitational (La Jolla, Calif.)
Feb. 9 -- vs. No. 21 Cal State Northridge, 12:30 p.m. PST
Feb. 9 -- vs. No. 9 Arizona State or No. 22 San Diego State, 4:30 or 5:50 p.m. PST
Feb. 10 -- TBA
Feb. 10 -- TBA
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan water polo team will be back in California for the third time in four weeks as they travel to La Jolla for the Triton Invitational this weekend (Feb. 9-10).
Team 19
• Michigan is 3-4 on the season and is set for its third weekend of competition at the Triton Invitational. The Wolverines were placed in Bracket D with No. 9 Arizona State, No. 21 Cal State Northridge and No. 22 San Diego State.
• Michigan has played one of the toughest schedules of any team in the country, facing off against four top-10 teams, including each of the top three teams.
• Freshman Abby Andrews was named CWPA Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after leading the team with 11 points at the Stanford Invitational. Andrews leads the team in both points (16) and assists (tied for seventh). Â
• Michigan is ranked No. 8 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Women's Varsity National Top 25 for the second straight week.
• Sophomore Maddy Johnston is the team leader in goals (11) after scoring seven goals at Stanford over the weekend.
Last Time Out
• In their second tournament of the year, the Wolverines went 1-2 and capped off the weekend with an 11-9 win against No. 8-ranked Pacific last Sunday (Feb. 3).
• Michigan received a great performance from its defense in the fourth quarter of its win over Pacific, holding the Tigers scoreless over the final 9:40 to come back from a 9-7 deficit. Junior Heidi Ritner made nine saves in the game, including two in the final period.
• The Wolverines utilized an exhibition with the Chinese national team as a way to get game experience for its younger players. Sophomore Maddie O'Reilly took advantage with four goals on her 20th birthday, while freshman Ava Morrant and sophomore Kathy Rogers each added two goals.
• Freshman Erin Neustrom was a bright spot in a 12-goal loss to No. 2 Stanford, as she drew six exclusions to go with one goal and two assists. Freshman Isabelle Rocco made her collegiate debut in the game as well. Â
• Johnston scored four goals in the first half against No. 13 UC Davis to put Michigan in the lead, but the Aggies came back to win the game by one goal, 12-11.
Opponents
• Michigan is in search of its seventh straight win and 12th win overall against No. 21-ranked Cal State Northridge (1-3). The Maize and Blue defeated the Matadors, 11-5, on Jan. 19 at the UCSB Tournament, which was CSUN's last game. U-M leads 11-1 in the all-time series against CSUN.
• The Wolverines have split their last four meetings with No. 9 Arizona State (5-2), going 2-2 and scoring 21 goals in those four contests. Each of those four games has been decided by two goals or less. U-M trails the all-time series 5-11.
• U-M has won three straight against No. 21 San Diego State (1-2). The two teams last met in a 2016 contest that Michigan won, 12-9. Michigan trails 13-8 in the all-time series against the Aztecs. Â
Milestone Watch
• Junior Maddy Steere is 10 assists and two steals shy of reaching 100 of each in her career. Â
• Senior Kim Johnson is eight goals shy of becoming the sixth player in program history with 200 career goals. She needs three assists to move past Sharayah Hernandez into ninth all-time and seven points to pass Ali Thomas for fifth most in school history. Johnson is also three drawn exclusions shy of Kiki Golden's total of 136 in fifth place on the career list.
Home Opener
• Michigan will host the Wolverine Invitational (March 2-3), with six schools -- Fresno State, Long Beach State, Marist, Pacific, Saint Francis (Pa.) and UC San Diego -- coming to Ann Arbor for the Wolverine Invitational. Admission to all U-M home games is free of charge.
