U-M to Host NCAA Tournament, Open vs. No. 3 Cal

» Michigan will make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th overall.
» The Wolverines are the No. 6 seed and will face off against No. 3 seed California on Friday (May 6) at 6 p.m. inside Canham Natatorium.
» U-M is 6-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with its last win coming in 2016.

PARKING ALERT: Several events are scheduled to take place around campus Saturday afternoon (May 7). Please plan for heavy incoming traffic due to graduation ceremonies at Michigan Stadium and reduced parking in SC-20 due to the baseball team's game vs. Indiana. » View parking map

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., May 6-8 -- host, NCAA Tournament (Canham Natatorium) | Tournament Central

Friday, May 6 -- vs. #3 California, 6 p.m.
TV: NCAA.com | Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, May 7 -- vs. TBD (semifinals), 5 p.m. (if advance)
TV: NCAA.com | Live Stats - to come | Live Video - to come
Saturday, May 8 -- vs. TBD (final), 4 p.m. (if advance)
TV: ESPNU | Live Stats - to come | Live Video

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (26-8) will make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (11th overall) when when it hosts No. 3-ranked and third-seeded California (16-5) in the quarterfinal round Friday (May 6) at 6 p.m. inside Canham Natatorium.

The Michigan-Cal winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday (May 7) to face No. 2 seed Southern California (18-3) or Fresno State (19-7) at 5 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday (May 8) at 4 p.m. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be streamed live on NCAA.com, while the final will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Team Notes

• The Wolverines enter the NCAA Tournament following a dominant performance in the CWPA Tournament. Michigan defeated No. 22 Brown 14-7 and No. 17 Harvard 10-4 to claim their sixth consecutive CWPA Title.

• Michigan and California faced each other twice during the 2022 campaign, with Cal winning both games. U-M fell 12-8 in the season opener at the ASU Cross Conference Challenge, and the teams met for a second time at Canham Natatorium, where the Golden Bears took the game by a 13-8 score. Michigan is 2-15 all-time against California with its most recent win coming during the 2020 season.

• The Wolverines enter the NCAA Tournament with a 26-8 overall record. U-M went 12-0 in conference play during the regular season.

• U-M is 6-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with its last win coming in 2016, a 5-4 victory over Arizona State. The win is Michigan's only NCAA tourney opening-game triumph.

• Michigan is led by CWPA Tournament Player of the Year Maddie O'Reilly, who led the conference in goals (72), assists (67) and points (139). She is joined by CWPA Player of the Year Maddy Steere, who was second behind O'Reilly in goals (50), assists (33) and points (83).

• Steere garnered CWPA Player of the Year honors for the second time, with the first coming in the 2019 season. Under head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi, the Wolverines have boasted the CWPA Player of the Year five times -- Steere (2022, 2019), Maddie O'Reilly (2021), Allison Skaggs (2017) and Ali Thomason (2016).

• Maddy Steere and Maddie O'Reilly were named to the CWPA All-Conference first team, with Alex Brown and Erin Neustrom named to the second team.

• Steere, O'Reilly and Nuestrom also garnered All-Tournament first-team honors, while Brown earned second-team recognition.

Opponent Previews

California: The Bears will be making their eighth trip to the NCAA Championship, and have reached the semifinals in every tournament it has played. Cal is 10-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Its best finish came in 2011, when they lost in the final to Stanford. The Bears' last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2019, endng in a semifinal overtime loss to USC.

Cal is led by All-MPSF first-team goalie Isabel Williams, who paced the conference with 10.6 saves per game. Her 223 total saves rank second on Cal's all-time single-season saves list. Three-time All-American Kitty Lynn Joustra also earned first team All-MPSF honors, while fellow three-time All-American Emma Wright (48 goals, 30 assists) ranks fourth in the MPSF at 3.7 points per game.