U-M to Trek to Harvard for CWPA Championship

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (20-10) will get its postseason started with the CWPA Championship, Saturday and Sunday (April 27-28) at Blodgett Pool on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The No. 2-seeded Wolverines will open play on Saturday at 2 p.m., facing the winner of the first-round matchup between Harvard and Saint Francis (Pa.).

Notes

• As the No. 2 seed, the Wolverines earned a first-round bye and will take on either tournament host Harvard or Saint Francis (Pa.) in the second round. With a win Saturday, Michigan would advance to CWPA Championship final on Sunday (April 28) at noon; U-M would play in the third-place game at 10 a.m. should it fall to its first opponent.

• U-M will look to bounce back after falling 10-7 to No. 14 Indiana in its regular-season finale at Canham Natatorium. Michigan finished the regular season with a record of 20-10 and a conference mark of 7-2 with both defeats coming to top-seeded Princeton.

• Michigan owns a strong record against both its potential opponents, boasting a combined 34-1 record overall and going 3-0 this season against the Crimson and Red Flash combined.

• Senior Kata Utassy will look to make her mark in the final CWPA Championship of her career. She ended the regular season with a team-high 92 points (60 goals, 32 assists) and earned CWPA All-Conference first team recognition for the second consecutive season on Tuesday (April 24).

• Fellow all-conference first-team honoree Libby Alsemgeest will look to make an impact in the middle of the pool in Cambridge. The senior has drawn 108 exclusions in 2024, surpassing the school record she set in 2023. Alsemgeest also has provided a boost on offense with 32 goals which ranks fourth on the team.

• Goalie Alex Brown was honored with her second career CWPA All-Conference award, landing on the second team after a stellar fifth season in Ann Arbor. The graduate student boasts 267 saves in 2024 and crossed the 900-save threshold during the three-game weekend at Bucknell to become just the third goalie in program history to reach the milestone.

• Seniors Lola Ciruli and Elise Walker also were named to the CWPA All-Conference second team. Ciruli closed out her regular season with a flourish against the 14th-ranked Hoosiers, scoring twice and assisting on another to tally a team-high three points. Walker tallied two points against IU with a goal and an assist.

• Freshman Emma Gustafsson is poised to make an impact in her first CWPA Championship, ranking second on the team with 67 points including 40 goals. Gustafsson has proved to be an efficient scorer this season, converting on half of her shot attempts in 2024.