Weekly Release #9
4/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., April 22-23 -- at Western Division Championship (Bloomington, Ind.)
Fri-Sun., April 28-30 -- at Eastern Championship (Providence, R.I.)
Fri-Sun., May 12-14 -- at NCAA Championship (Davis, Calif.)
This Week
The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's water polo team (24-11) is seeded No. 2 at the Western Division Championship for the second straight season. The championship tournament will be held in Bloomington, Ind., at Indiana University's Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center. Michigan opens up against Washington & Jefferson on Saturday (April 22) at 12:45 p.m. A Wolverine win will place U-M against the winner of the match between Mercyhurst and Grove City at 8:30 p.m. later in the day. On Sunday (April 23), Michigan will likely play Indiana or Slippery Rock for the championship at noon. The winner of the tournament will be crowned post-season CWPA Western Division Champion as well as determine seeding for the Eastern Championship (Apr. 28-30) next weekend in Providence, R.I.
CWPA Western Division Championship Schedule
Bracket A: Indiana, Slippery Rock, Gannon
Bracket B: MICHIGAN, Mercyhurst, Grove City, Washington & Jefferson
Saturday, April 22
Game 1 -- No. 1 seed Indiana vs. No. 5 seed Gannon, 11:30 a.m.
Game 2 -- No. 2 seed MICHIGAN vs. No. 7 seed Washington & Jefferson, 12:45 p.m.
Game 3 -- No. 3 seed Mercyhurst vs. No. 6 seed Grove City, 2:00 p.m.
Game 4 -- No. 4 seed Slippery Rock vs. No. 5 seed Gannon, 3:15 p.m.
Game 5 -- Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 3, 6 p.m.
Game 6 -- Indiana vs. Slippery Rock, 7:15 p.m.
Game 7 -- Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 23
Game 8 -- Third in bracket A vs. Loser of Game 2, 9 a.m.
Game 9 -- Second in bracket A vs. Loser of Game 7, 10:30 a.m. (Third-Place Game)
Game 10 -- First in bracket A 7 vs. Winner of Game 7, 12 p.m. (First-Place Game)
Game 11 -- Third in bracket A vs. Loser of Game 3, 1:30 p.m.
Scouting the Opponent
Grove City -- Grove City finished the regular season 9-12 overall (2-5 CWPA Western Division) despite losing 7 of its first 8 games. GCC won its last match of the season on April 11 over Washington & Jefferson, 8-4. Michigan won both matches in the battle of the Wolverines by a combined score of 26-4 to move to 9-0 all-time against Grove City. Grove City College on the Web: www.gcc.edu/sports.
Indiana -- Indiana finished the regular season 20-9 and in first place in the regular-season CWPA Western Division standings at 7-0. The Hoosiers last played at the UC-Davis Shootout and earned a 3-1 record. After defeating IU in the teams' first meeting, 11-7, Michigan has dropped the last two contests against the Hoosiers. U-M is 18-4-1 all-time against Indiana. Indiana on the Web: www.iuhoosiers.com.
Mercyhurst -- Mercyhurst College finished the regular season 15-7-1 with a 5-2 record in the CWPA Western Division. The Lakers won their last match 5-0 by forfeit over Penn State-Behrend. U-M defeated Mercyhurst 13-7 at the CWPA League Tournament on March 5 to move to 5-0 all-time in matches between the two programs. Mercyhurst on the Web: www.mercyhurst.edu/athletics.
Slippery Rock -- The Rock finished the season 15-14-1 with a 4-3 record in the CWPA Western Division. Slippery Rock last played on April 8 where they split two contests, losing to Mercyhurst, 12-11, and defeating Washington & Jefferson, 8-5. Michigan is 3-0 this season and 12-0 all-time against the Rock. Slippery Rock on the Web: www.rockathletics.com.
Washington & Jefferson -- Washington & Jefferson went 5-13 in the regular season with a 0-7 record in the CWPA Western Division. W&J has had an up-and-down season. The Presidents won their first contest of the year before losing six straight. After winning four of its next five games, W&J has lost six straight. Michigan defeated the Presidents 14-5 at the CWPA League Tournament on March 4 to improve to 8-0 all-time against W&J. Washington & Jefferson on the Web: www.washjeff.edu/athletics.
National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll (4/12/06)
Rank, School Points 1. Southern Cal 100 2. Stanford 95 3. UCLA 90 4. Loyola Marymount 83 5. Hawaii 82 6. California 77 7. UC Irvine 68 8. San Diego State 65 9. San Jose State 63 10. Long Beach State 54 11. Arizona State 50 12. UC Santa Barbara 44 13. Hartwick 42 14. UC Davis 37 15. UC San Diego 28 16. Indiana 24 17. MICHIGAN 18 18. Santa Clara 14 19. Cal State Northridge 10 20. Princeton 8
Wolverines Like to Get Tricky
The following is a list of the players and the number of hat tricks each earned in the regular season: Shana Welch 13, Megan Hausmann 6, Mary Chatigny 3, Kristin Hoogenboom 3, Carrie Frost 2, Michelle Keeley 2, Julie Hyrne 2, Kaitlin Prijatel 1, Carly Strub 1, Kate Zondervan 1, Nicole Santarosa 1, Kate Bizer 1.
Plethora of Wolverines Nearing Career Milestones
Wesley Ellison: needs two goals for 50 in her career.
Mary Chatigny: needs seven points for 50 in her career.
Julie Hyrne: needs three points for 50 in her career.
Megan Hausmann: needs five drawn ejections for 100 in her career.
Shana Welch: needs one assist for 50 in her career.
Kaitlin Prijatel: needs two steals for 50 steals in her career.
Sharayah Hernandez: needs eight points for 50 in her career.
Welch Moves Up in Record Books while Pacing Maize and Blue Offense
Junior captain Shana Welch (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming West Valley) finished the regular season as the team leader in goals and points, scoring 66 times and tallying 88 points in 31 games. She also has 22 assists and needs just seven helpers to equal her total from her two previous seasons combined (29). Her 66 scores and 88 points this season are the second-highest single-season total in both categories in program history. Welch tallied a school-record 84 goals and a school-record 99 points last season and has led the team in scores in all of her three seasons donning the Maize and Blue.
Welch, who is already the program leader in goals with 205, needs 13 points to become the program's all-time point scorer. Her 253 points entering this weekend trail Sheetal Narsai's (2002-05) 265. She also holds second place in career steals and has a good chance at surpassing Narsai's 174 career steals before the end of her Wolverine career.
Helping Out is the Hernandez Way
Sharayah Hernandez (Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) handed out a team-high eight assists at the Brown Mini (April 8-9) to take the team lead in assists (27). Her 27 helpers are the most by any Wolverine freshman in program history.
Senior Strub Saving her Best for Last
Having already set single-season career bests in points and assists, Carly Strub (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) scored two times and dished out three assists against Harvard (April 8) to set a career high in points. She completes the regular season with 13 goals and 22 assists.
Hausmann Leaving a Legacy at U-M
Megan Hausmann (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's), who already has a stronghold on third place in all-time steals and drawn kickouts, is currently tied with Jo Antonsen (2002-05) for third place in career assists with (85). A helper this weekend would push the senior captain into sole possession of third. Hausmann also ranks fourth all-time with 212 career points.
Hoogenboom Having Career-Best Season
After setting career highs in goals, assists and steals as a sophomore in 2004, Kristin Hoogenboom (Portland, Ore./Sunset) has set new single-season career highs in goals (18), assists (18), shots, and steals in 2006. Her 63 career helpers also rank fourth all-time.
Ellison Nears Top 5 in Career Drawn Ejections
Wesley Ellison's (Portola Valley, Calif./Palo Alto) 68 career drawn kickouts heading into this weekend put her just four from fifth-place all-time in the category. Casey Kerney (2002-04) currently holds the fifth spot all-time with 72 in her career.
Davis is a Record Thief
Goalkeeper Kristen Davis (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) registered nine steals in three games at the Brown Mini (April 8-9) to increase her total for the season to 37, which ties the single-season program record in steals by a goalkeeper that was set in 2002 by Betsey Armstrong (2002-05).
Davis, who already set the single-season assist record by a goalkeeper, ranks second on the Wolverines in assists with 25 this season.
And the Winner of the Freshman Race is Hyrne
Julie Hyrne (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) used two goals and three assists at the Brown Mini (April 8-9) to take the freshmen lead in points with 47 (30 g, 17 a). She also finishes the regular season as the freshmen leader in goals.
Over 20 Again
The Wolverines finish the regular season 24-11 and have now had three straight seasons with 24 or more regular-season wins. Michigan notched 25 regular-season wins in 2004 and 2005. The Wolverines set a school record in 2004 with a 30-9 overall record.
Three is Better than One
Shana Welch, Megan Hausmann and Lindsey Hitchcock (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) have been named the tri-captains for the Wolverines' 2006 season. All three players wear the honor for the first time in their Michigan careers.
The Anderson Files
Head coach Matt Anderson begins his fourth year as the leader of the University of Michigan water polo program. In his four years at Michigan, Anderson has brought a hard-nosed playing philosophy and a defensive intensity to the Wolverines that has led to a 105-44 record and a trifecta of CWPA Division titles since he arrived at U-M. In his first season as the head coach of Michigan water polo, Anderson led the program to a 22-10 record, a third-place finish at the Eastern Championships and its second straight Southern Division crown. In 2004, Anderson guided Michigan to a school-record 30 victories as well as setting records in points (665), assists (291) and goals against average (4.61). Anderson also coached U-M to its third consecutive CWPA Division Championship crown, earning CWPA Western Division Coach of the Year honors. Last season, Anderson led U-M to Western Division Championship and Eastern Championship titles and the program's first NCAA Championship win. He also was named Eastern Championship Coach of the Year in 2005.
On the Horizon...
The Wolverines travel next weekend to Providence, R.I., for the Eastern Championship at Brown's Smith Swim Center. The winner of the Eastern Championship will earn the CWPA bid to the NCAA Championships (May 12-14) in Davis, Calif.
Contact: Matt Baumer (734) 763-4423
