Michigan
Arizona State
Michigan to Head West for Dates with Arizona State, USC
2/24/2021 4:45:00 PM | Water Polo
THIS WEEK
Friday, Feb. 26 -- at #4 Arizona State (Tempe, Ariz.), 1:30 p.m. MST
TV: ASU Live Stream | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 27 -- vs. #1 USC (Tempe, Ariz.), 2 p.m. MST
Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 28 -- vs. #1 USC (Tempe, Ariz.) 9 a.m. MST
Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 28 -- at #4 Arizona State (Tempe, Ariz.), 2 p.m. MST
TV: ASU Live Stream | Live Stats | Live Video
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The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (4-0) enters its second week of competition by hitting the road for the first time, heading to Tempe, Ariz., for a pair of games with both No. 4 Arizona State and No. 1 USC. The Wolverines have one game each of the first two days, playing Arizona State on Friday (Feb. 26) at 1:30 p.m. MST and USC on Saturday (Feb. 27) at 2 p.m. MST. They will end the weekend with games against both clubs on Sunday (Feb. 28) -- USC at 9 a.m. MST and Arizona State at 2 p.m. MST.
Team Notes
• Michigan is coming off a successful opening weekend, going 4-0 at the Michigan Invitational. It scored two wins over No. 13 Indiana -- 8-5 and 11-6 -- as well as single wins against Salem, 12-7, and Saint Francis, 13-2.
• The Wolverines are ranked No. 6 in the latest CWPA Varsity Top 25 poll, released Wednesday (Feb. 24). [ Poll ]
• Senior Maddie O'Reilly (Player of the Week), graduate student Heidi Ritner (Defensive Player of the Week) and freshman Libby Alsemgeest (Rookie of the Week) each earned CWPA weekly honors on Tuesday (Feb. 23). [ Awards and Honors ]
• Michigan showed incredible depth on its opening weekend. Twenty-three different players recorded at least one point, 17 of whom scored at least one goal. As a team, the Wolverines racked up 63 steals and went 15-of-16 on sprints.
• Several members of the team's second unit have gotten off to fabulous starts, including freshman Kata Utassy (four goals, two assists), freshman Libby Alsemgeest (5G), senior Kathy Rogers (3G, 2A) and sophomore Sophie Tovani (3G, 2A). Adding to the depth are backup goalkeepers Sophie Jackson (10 saves, four goals allowed) and Alex Brown (9 saves, 5GA), each of whom played the equivalent of a full game last weekend.
• Senior Maddie O'Reilly picked up right where she left off last year, filling up the stat sheet at the Michigan Invitational. She tallied a team-best nine points on four goals and five assists to go along with seven steals and two field blocks.
Opponent Preview
Arizona State: The Sun Devils are 5-0 on the season and ranked No. 4 in the CWPA Varsity Top 25. They opened the season with three wins over San Diego State and are coming off a two-win weekend over California Baptist. Freshman attacker Luca Petovary leads the team in goals (18) and was named MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Michigan is 7-11 all-time against Arizona State.
USC: The Trojans are 1-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the CWPA Varsity Top 25. They beat UC Irvine, 12-7, in their lone contest back on Feb. 12. One of the premier programs in the country, USC went 12-1 in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season and was NCAA runner-up (to Stanford) in 2019. Michigan is 0-14 all-time against USC.
Up Next
Sat-Sun, March 6-7 -- at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.)
