Michigan
Washington & Jefferson
Wolverines Top Presidents to Complete Division Sweep
3/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team defeated Washington & Jefferson 16-4 today (Sunday, March 30) at the Henry Memorial Center. The victory gave the Wolverines (14-8, 8-0 CWPA) their third straight Southern Division regular-season title and a No. 1 seed in the Southern Division Championships on April 11-13.
Erin Brown (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's HS) led all scorers with four goals and Chelsea Kay (Laguna Hills, Calif./Laguna Hills HS) added her first hat trick of the season. The Wolverines also set a school record with 15 assists on their 16 goals. Emily Pelino (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) and Vickie Brown (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) led the way with three assists each. Seven different Wolverines played in goal, making 15 saves and allowing only four goals.
The Wolverines came out of the gate quickly against Washington & Jefferson and held a commanding 7-0 lead after the first period. The Presidents got on the board in the second quarter, but Michigan was able to notch a pair of goals in the stanza to make the halftime score 9-1. The second half held more of the same as U-M outscored Washington & Jefferson 4-0 in the third period. Each team scored three goals in the final quarter but the game had all but been decided.
Michigan travels to Tempe, Ariz., to participate in the Arizona State Desert Challenge on Saturday and Sunday (April 5-6). On Saturday, the Wolverines face No. 7 Loyola Marymount at 10 a.m. MST and No. 20 Arizona State at 5 p.m. MST. U-M will then wrap up the tournament on Sunday with a contest against No. 9 San Jose State at 10 a.m. MST.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Washington & Jefferson | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
| Michigan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Washington & Jefferson Goals: Audrey Taylor 3, Jamie Chwan. Michigan Goals: Erin Brown 4, Chelsea Kay 3, Rachel Burkons 2, Meg Knudtsen 2, Emily Pelino, Sheetal Narsai, Kristin Hoogenboom, Clare Peyrebrune, Heather Karjala. Ejections: Washington & Jefferson 5, Michigan 2.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Matt Anderson
On winning a third straight Southern Division title "Our first goal was to get the No. 1 seed in the tournament and to win the division again. We accomplished that with our 8-0 record in the division this season. Now it is important that we establish ourselves in the round robin of the tournament. We need to prepare for what hopefully will be a conference championship.
On the defense "Of our 16 quarters this weekend, we held the opponent scoreless in nine of them and only gave up one goal in another two. I left a good number of our more offensive players home so that we could re-focus on playing defense, knowing our offense would not be as strong as usual. I wanted to re-send the message that defense is going to win games for us. It also really allowed Erin Brown and Meg Knudtsen to show what they can do in the pool. Brown had a great weekend and she did not play more than two quarters in any contest. Both of the ladies have done a great job blending into the team offense so far in the season, but this weekend they showed they can take over if we need them to."
On the emergence of Meg Knudtsen while Megan Hausmann has been injured "Meg had benefited the most from the injury to Megan Hausmann. She was given an opportunity that she took and blasted through to establish herself as a very important part of this team. I asked her to play a new position and she has done everything I have asked and more. She is really showing herself to be one of the best players on this team. That is what you want to see as a coach when one of your front-liners goes down. You want to see people stepping up and making the most of the opportunity."
Contact: Paul Dickerson (734) 763-4423
