Weekly Release #6
3/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Sat-Sun., March 24-25 -- host Division Tournament (Canham Natatorium)
Sat-Sun, March 31-April 1 -- at Indiana Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
What's Ahead for the Wolverines
The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team (10-9-1) will close out the inaugural home season at Canham Natatorium on Saturday and Sunday (March 23-24) when it hosts the Southern Division Tournament. The teams are battling for a chance to compete at the Eastern Championships on April 28-30, where the winner will be given a berth to the NCAA Championships on May 11-13. The two-day round-robin event will pit Michigan against division rivals Slippery Rock University and No. 17 Indiana University.
Michigan opens play on Saturday (March 24) with a 3 p.m. matchup against Slippery Rock and concludes with a 9 p.m. game versus Big Ten rival Indiana. The Sunday (March 25) lineup pits the Wolverines against Indiana at noon and against Slippery Rock at 3 p.m.
Schedule of Games
| Saturday, March 24 | MICHIGAN vs. Slippery Rock | 3 p.m. |
| | Indiana vs. Slippery Rock | 6 p.m. |
| | MICHIGAN vs. Indiana | 9 p.m. |
Sunday, March 25 | Indiana vs. Slippery Rock | 9 a.m. |
| | MICHIGAN vs. Indiana | Noon |
| | MICHIGAN vs. Slippery Rock | 3 p.m. |
Scouting the Opponents
Indiana University -- Indiana University will enter the tournament with an 11-5-1 record ... Indiana is led by sophomore Kristen Stanford, who has accounted for 20 goals during the Hoosiers' first three tournaments ... The Wolverines and the Hoosiers played to a 4-4 tie in the teams' previous meeting on Feb. 18 ... Indiana on the web: www.athletics.indiana.edu.
Slippery Rock -- Slippery Rock University was the 2000 Allegheny Division champion ... The Rock has a young team, with only four seniors and three juniors ... Slippery Rock is not ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association's top 20 ... This marks the first meeting between the Wolverines and the Rock ... Slippery Rock on the web: www.sru.edu/sports/sport_main.html.
Two Hat Tricks Seal Victory for Wolverines
The Wolverines received hat tricks from freshmen Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) and Chelsea Kay (Laguna Hills, Calif./Laguna Beach HS) to defeat the Michigan State club team 9-2 in exhibition play at Canham Natatorium on March 16. Along with Nisbet's and Kay's three-goal nights, Michigan received scoring from juniors Delia Sonda (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Maribeth Sitkowski (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) and freshman Corrie Kenagy (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro HS).
Nisbet and Hagedorn Leading the Way
Junior Mandi Hagedorn (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and freshman Julie Nisbet lead the Wolverines in goal scoring, each contributing 19 goals. Both players got their first goal of the season in Michigan's Feb. 9 victory over Villanova (18-6). Each also has led the team in scoring during six individual games.
Five-Goal Outburst Leads Kay to Michigan Record
Freshman Chelsea Kay made her mark on the new Michigan record book by scoring five goals in a single game during the Wolverines' 15-5 victory over Gannon University (March 4). She crushed the previous mark of three goals, which had been done five times by four other Wolverines.
Paz Hits First Goal ... and Five More
Sophomore Monica Paz (Santa Monica, Calif./Harvard Westlake HS) scored her first goal of the season in Michigan's 14-2 victory over Penn State-Behrend on March 3. Paz proceeded to find the net two more times in the game, registering her first career hat trick. She continued her scoring success with a second consecutive hat trick in Michigan's 19-3 win over Grove City. Paz became only the fourth Wolverine to score a regular-season hat trick (against varsity opponents) and the only one to repeat the feat and do it in back-to-back games.
Michigan's "Hat Tricksters"
| Maribeth Sitkowski | 3 goals vs. Villanova (Feb. 9) |
| Stephanie Morse | 3 goals vs. Villanova (Feb. 9) |
| Julie Nisbet | 3 goals vs. Princeton (Feb. 25) |
| Monica Paz | 3 goals vs. Penn State-Behrend (March 3) |
| Monica Paz | 3 goals vs. Grove City (March 3) |
| Chelsea Kay | 5 goals vs. Gannon (March 4) |
Looking into the Future
The Wolverines will conclude their regular season on Saturday and Sunday (March 31-April 1) when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to compete in the Indiana Invitational.
Collegiate Water Polo Association Top 20 Poll (3/14/01)
Rank, School Pts. LW 1. Stanford 100 1 2. UCLA 95 2 3. Southern Cal 90 3 4. California 85 4 5. San Jose State 79 5 6. Hawaii 73 7 7. Cal-Santa Barbara 66 8 8. Long Beach State 63 6 9. Loyola Marymount 62 10 10. San Diego State 55 11 11. Cal-Davis 54 9 12. Cal-San Diego 46 T12 13. MICHIGAN 41 T12 14. Princeton 33 14 15. California Baptist 25 20 16. Pacific 24 T15 17. Indiana 20 18 18. Brown 17 T15 19. Massachusetts 15 17 20. Hartwick 5 19
Contact: Valerie Perkin (734) 763-4423
