Michigan
California
U-M to End Three-Week Break at Barbara Kalbus Invitational
2/19/2020 11:14:00 AM | Water Polo
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Feb. 21-23 -- at Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Irvine, Calif.)
Tournament Central
Friday, Feb. 21 -- vs. No. 7 Cal (Corona del Mar H.S.), 3 p.m. PST
Saturday, Feb. 22 -- vs. No. 2 UCLA or No. 21Â Pacific (UCI Aquatics Center or Corona del Mar H.S.), 10:30 a.m. PST
Saturday, Feb. 22 -- vs. TBD (UCI Aquatics Center or Corona del Mar H.S.), 4 p.m. PST or 5:15 p.m. PST
Sunday, Feb. 23 -- vs. TBD (UCI Aquatics Center or Corona del Mar H.S.), TBD
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan water polo team had three weeks to rest, recover and train between its last competition at the Stanford Invitational on Feb. 2 and this weekend's Barbara Kalbus Invitational (Feb. 21-23) in Irvine, California.
Barbara Kalbus Invitational
• Michigan will travel to Irvine, California, for four games at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
• The Wolverines have competed in the tournament each of the last five years, compiling a 10-10 overall record.Â
• U-M will face No. 7 Cal to start the weekend, the third matchup with the Golden Bears this season. Cal won on a last-second shot, 8-7, on Jan. 19 and defeated U-M, 10-8, on Feb. 1.
• Michigan is 1-13 all-time against Cal, with the only victory coming at the 2016 Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
• The second game of the weekend will be against either No. 2 UCLA or No. 21 Pacific, the other two teams in Group B. Michigan lost to UCLA, 12-4, on Jan. 25 and beat Pacific, 7-4, the next day.
The Opponents
• Michigan's first two games this weekend will be against teams also placed in Group B with the Wolverines. The three other teams in the group are No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Cal and No. 21 Pacific.
• UCLA lost its second game of the season against UCSB but has bounced back to win 12 in a row. UCLA has climbed to No. 2 in the nation with a 14-1 record.
• Cal sits at 8-4 on the year with two wins over the Wolverines. The Golden Bears have dropped from a No. 4 ranking on opening weekend.
• Pacific has dropped in the polls after a 2-7 start to the season. The Tigers have lost six in a row heading into the tournament.
Last Time Out
• The Maize and Blue last played Feb. 1-2 before having three weeks off.
• Michigan played tight games with No. 6 Cal (8-10) and No. 2 Stanford (10-13) at the Stanford Invitational before losing to No. 11 UC Davis by five goals to cap off the weekend.
• Junior Maddie O'Reilly tallied six goals and six assists to lead the team in scoring for the third straight weekend. She piled up four goals and a career-high six points in a close loss to Stanford.
• Junior Emily Ritner scored a career-high four goals in the Cal game and finished with five on the weekend.
• Sophomore Erin Neustrom had a big performance with five goals on 10 shots and 12 drawn exclusions.
• The team shot just 28.2 percent in the three losses, while also stopping only 29.2 percent of opponent's shots to allow more than 11 goals per game.
Team 20
• U-M is 5-6 on the season with a 2-2 record at the UCSB Winter Invite, a 3-1 record in the Michigan Invitational and an 0-3 mark at Stanford.
• Michigan is averaging 7.82 goals per game on offense and allowing 9.09 goals per game on defense.
• The Wolverines are led on offense by O'Reilly with 19 goals and 15 assists. Sophomores Neustrom (15) and Ava Morrant (14) and Emily Ritner (11) have also scored in double figures. Neustrom has made a big difference inside with a team-high 35 drawn exclusions and .484 shooting percentage. Emily Ritner is the only other U-M player with 10 or more assists besides O'Reilly.
• The defense is run by Heidi Ritner, who has started all 11 games in the cage. She has a 4-6 record with 78 saves and a team-high 19 steals. Emily Ritner has a team-high four field blocks.
The Doctor
• Head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi is 137-54 (.717) as the Michigan coach, including a 36-2 (.947) record in the CWPA.
• Leonardi has guided the Wolverines to four straight CWPA titles and NCAA appearances, placing as high as fourth in the NCAA in 2016.
In the Rankings
• U-M is currently on a streak of 28 straight polls in the top 10 and 78 of the last 79 polls, coming in at No. 10 for the second straight week.
• Under Leonardi, the team has been ranked in the top 10 in 78 weeks and in the top five eight weeks over the last six seasons.
• Michigan was ranked No. 7 in the preseason top 25.
Records and Milestones
• Heidi Ritner is one win shy of the school career record held by Betsey Armstrong at 85.
• Neustrom is approaching 100 career drawn exclusions, currently five away. She is 10 shy of reaching the career top 10.
• Senior Skyler Pyle is approaching her 100th career game played, needing four more.
