Michigan
Hartwick
Michigan Tops Hartwick for Eastern Title, NCAA Berth
4/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Princeton, N.J. (DeNunzio Pool)
Event: Eastern Championship (Title Game)
Score: #13 Michigan 7, #14 Hartwick 6 (2OT)
Records: U-M (25-11)
Next Event: Saturday, May 11 -- at NCAA Championship Semifinals (Los Angeles, Calif.), TBA
PRINCETON, N.J. -- The No. 13-ranked University of Michigan water polo team won its first Eastern Championship title on Sunday (April 28) when Jen Crisman (Hudsonville, Mich./Jenison HS) scored with 31 seconds left in the first sudden-death period to vault the Wolverines past No. 14 Hartwick 7-6 at Princeton's DeNunzio Pool. With the win Michigan earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in just its second varsity season and will play May 11-12 as a part of the Final Four in Los Angeles, Calif.
Goalie Betsey Armstrong (left) made 15 saves and Jen Crisman scored the game-winner against Hartwick.
U-M held a two-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but the Hawks shut out the Wolverines and scored two goals of their own to knot the game and send it into overtime. Michigan led 6-5 after the first three-minute session, but once again Hartwick tied the game and the Wolverines were sent into their second consecutive sudden-death game. Crisman received the ball in the hole-set and with Hartwick defenders crashing down on her and with the goalie coming out to defend she flipped the ball over everyone's head with her back to the net to secure the Wolverines' first Eastern Championship title.
Each team was awarded a power play early in the first quarter, but neither was able to cash in on the scoring opportunity and the game remained scoreless. Hartwick broke the ice by converting on its second 6-on-5 chance at 2:25 of the first quarter to take the 1-0 lead. U-M tied the game one minute later when Mandi Hagedorn (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) found the back of the Hartwick net to make the game a 1-1 affair after the first quarter.
Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) came up big for Michigan early in the second quarter as she stopped a Hawk 4-meter penalty attempt. Her save allowed the Maize and Blue to capture the lead for the first time in the contest when Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) scored on a penalty shot with 6:10 left in the second period. However, the lead would prove to be short-lived as Hartwick tied the game just 26 seconds later on a 6-on-5. Emily Pelino's (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) tally one minute before halftime gave the Wolverines a 3-2 cushion at the intermission.
U-M started to pull away in the third period by opening up a two-goal lead (4-2) on a goal by Julie Nisbet (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara HS) just 34 seconds into the stanza. The Michigan defense stood tall and shut out the Hawks in the quarter to preserve the 4-2 lead heading into the final frame.
Hartwick proved its resiliency in the fourth quarter by recording two tallies and keeping the Wolverines off the board to send the game into overtime. The Hawks closed the gap midway through the period when they converted on a 6-on-5 opportunity to make the score 4-3. Armstrong made her second penalty shot save of the contest with 3:46 left in the game to preserve the lead for the time being. Hartwick, however, tied the game in the final minute of play and the contest went into extra sessions.
Michigan took control of the overtime session early as Sheetal Narsai (Commerce, Calif./Bell Gardens HS) notched her first goal of the game to give the Maize and Blue a 5-4 advantage. Hartwick tied the game in the final 30 seconds of the first overtime period but Stephanie Morse (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) re-established Michigan's lead with 0:07 left. Hartwick hung tough in the second mandatory overtime period and Megan Thompson scored her fourth goal of the game and second of the overtime period to ensure that the game went to sudden death.
Armstrong's play throughout the contest earned her the game MVP honors. She made 15 saves in all in the championship game, with five coming in 6-on-5 situations and four in the overtime sessions.
The NCAA Championship will be hosted by the University of Southern California on May 11-12 at McDonald's Swim Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Pairings for the four-team, single-elimination event will be announced by the NCAA on Monday (April 29). Semifinals will be played Saturday, May 11, and the third-place and championship games will be contested Sunday, May 12.
Michigan (Collegiate Water Polo Association), defending national champion UCLA (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and Loyola Marymount (Western Water Polo Association) earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championship by winning their conference titles. An at-large selection will round out the field.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | OT | OT | F |
| Michigan | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Hartwick | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Michigan Goals: Stephanie Morse, Jen Crisman, Emily Pelino, Mandi Hagedorn, Julie Nisbet, Sheetal Narsai, Erin Brown. Hartwick Goals: Megan Thompson 4, Sheri Johnson.
N O T E S
• Four Wolverines received all-tournament honors. Goalie Betsey Armstrong and 2-meter Julie Nisbet were both on the first team, while 2-meter defender Jen Crisman and utility Erin Brown were second-team honorees.
• By defeating Hartwick in the Eastern Championship title game, Michigan has earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, which will be played May 11-12 in Los Angeles, Calif. The win gives the Wolverines their first banner at the Eastern Championship and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in only the second year of the program's varsity existence.
• Michigan's back-to-back overtime victories over Indiana (8-7 4OT) on Saturday and Hartwick (7-6 2OT) on Sunday marked two firsts for the Wolverines. This is the first time that Michigan has played consecutive overtime games, and the game against Indiana was the first multiple overtime contest for the U-M program. The Wolverines are undefeated in overtime in the 2002 season with a 5-0 record. In the two-year history of Michigan water polo, U-M is 8-0 when playing in overtime.
• With the triumph over Hartwick, Michigan continued its season-high winning streak, which now stands at 13 games. The all-time high for the Wolverines is 15 games, which they accomplished last year from March 3 to April 7.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Amber Drury-Pinto
On the game ... "It was a tough battle all the way through. That's what we expected to happen and that is exactly what it was. We couldn't ask for a better game. In the end, I really think our conditioning paid off and we were able to outlast them."
On playing back-to-back overtime games ... "It was definitely emotionally and physically draining for all of us. At the same time, it was familiar for us and we weren't nervous. We were confident. We had our players and we came through in the end."
On what needs to be done to excel at the NCAA Tournament ... "The first thing we're going to do is get some rest. We've played two tournaments the last two weeks with final exams mixed in. We're going to work on the things that have gotten us here and we just have to make sure that we do them even better when we get to California."
