Steere Earns CWPA Player of the Year, Andrews Top Rookie
4/25/2019 9:00:00 AM | Water Polo
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior Maddy Steere was named CWPA Player of the Year and freshman Abby Andrews was selected CWPA Rookie of the Year to highlight the University of Michigan water polo team in the 2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association postseason awards announcement.
In all, Michigan had four All-CWPA honorees. Junior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner joined Steere on the All-CWPA first team, while Andrews and senior Julia Sellers were chosen to the second team.
Steere is the third student-athlete to earn CWPA Player of the Year in the five years under head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi. She joined Allison Skaggs (2017) and Ali Thomason (2016). Nine other Wolverines were tabbed CWPA Division Player of the Year prior to Leonardi's arrival.
This season Steere has been Michigan's best all-around player. She ranks second on the team with 89 points and 40 assists. Her 49 goals are the third most. Steere also recorded 24 drawn exclusions, 23 steals and 10 field blocks to rank among the team leaders. In six conference games, she posted 16 goals, nine assists, six drawn exclusions, five steals and two field blocks. She has earned two CWPA Player of the Week honors and is an All-CWPA first-team selection for the third straight season.
Andrews is just the second Wolverine to be tabbed CWPA Rookie of the Year, joining teammate Kim Johnson (2016). Andrews has set U-M freshman records for points (113) and assists (62) to lead the team in both categories. She also has 51 goals to become just the fourth player in school history with 50 goals and 50 assists in the same season.
Andrews has filled the stat sheet this year with a team-high 38 steals and 12 field blocks. She has also been the team's top sprinter with 39 wins and just six losses. In conference play, Andrews led the team with 33 points, 18 assists and 10 steals.
With a 21-8 record in the cage, Ritner has made 187 saves in just under 800 minutes. She has a 7.60 goals-against average and .496 save percentage. Ritner was most impressive in conference play with a 3.47 goals-against average and .698 save percentage with 37 saves in over 147 minutes played. It is her second career all-conference honor, adding to second-team recognition in 2017.
Sellers is the team leader with 57 goals and has 75 points on the year. She also has 32 drawn exclusions, 21 steals, 10 field blocks and 27 sprints won. During conference play, Sellers scored a team-high 19 goals to go with six assists and five steals. She was a 2018 first-team All-CWPA selection.
The Wolverines will attempt to win their fourth straight CWPA title this weekend at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. U-M will take on the winner of No. 16 Harvard and Brown in a CWPA Championship semifinal game on Saturday (April 27) at 2:30 p.m.
