Michigan
Gannon
Wolverines Blank Gannon, Earn Spot in Division Final
4/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Grove City, Pa. (Grove City College Pool)
Event: Western Division Championship (Semifinals)
Scores: #11 Michigan 21, Gannon 0
Record: U-M (29-9); Gannon (9-13)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 19 -- vs. Indiana at Western Division Championship (Grove City, Pa.), 7:30 p.m.
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan water polo team advanced to the final round of the CWPA Western Division Championship with a 21-0 win over Gannon Saturday (April 19) at the Grove City College Pool. The Wolverines have blanked an opponent in successive weeks, accounting for both shutouts in program history.
Michigan will take on No. 18 Indiana, a 16-6 winner over Mercyhurst in the other semifinal, at 7:30 p.m. tonight (April 19) as the Maize and Blue seeks its seventh straight division title.
Junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) and sophomore Kimberly Gero(Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) split the game between the pipes against Gannon, stopping six shots.
Junior Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) hit the back of the cage on four occasions to go with an assist and a steal, while sophomore Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) turned in a hat trick and tied a season high with six steals. Junior Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) also scored three, while junior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) and freshman Ryley Plunkett(Modesto, Calif./Johansen) each had two goals and two assists.
Michigan set the tone early with two goals in the first 1:12 of the contest. Mantel got the Wolverines going with a skip shot from inside two meters 36 seconds after the opening sprint. Hyrne sandwiched goals around a coast-to-coast goal from Robertson to give Michigan a 4-0 edge. Frost hit paydirt in the opening seconds of a 6-on-5 at 5:48 before making a steal and setting up a goal from Chatigny 44 seconds later.
Hyrne wrapped up her hat trick 46 seconds into the second frame, winning a battle for the ball with a Knights defender and their goalkeeper to create a shot and the goal. Hyrne let a cannon go at 1:34 for her fourth marker to put U-M up 8-0. Chatigny scored from May on a long pass that she deposited in the net after a torpedo move past the Gannon defender. Michigan then rattled off four goals in the next 2:30 to go ahead 13-0. Robertson had a pair during the string, and junior Kelsey Haley(Portola Valley, Calif./Menlo) and freshman Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) each chipped in a goal and an assist in the span.
The Wolverines put up six goals in the third stanza, including both of Plunkett's goals and markers from junior Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho), Frost and freshman Cara Reitz(Miami, Fla./Gulliver). Freshman Lauren Orth(Poway, Calif./Poway) also got in on the scoring action, sinking a fadeaway shot from the two-meter position. Gero was challenged twice in the period and turned aside both shots on goal.
The final period saw a strong defensive effort on both sides of the pool with neither team giving up much inside water. Reitz dented the twine with a howitzer from six meters 33 seconds into the period. Frost wrapped up the Wolverine scoring with a sharp angle shot from the right side, skipping the ball over the arms of the Knight goalkeeper.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Gannon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 21 |
U-M Goals: Julie Hyrne 4, Carrie Frost 3, Leah Robertson 3, Ryley Plunkett 2, Mary Chatigny 2, Cara Reitz 2, Kelsey Haley, Sarah Roberts, Lauren Orth, Sharayah Hernandez, Alison Mantel. Gannon Goals: None.
N O T E S
With 21 goals against Gannon, Michigan now has 440 goals as a team this season, surpassing the program record for goals in a season (432, 2007).
Junior Carrie Frost tied career highs with three assists and six points against Gannon.
Junior Brittany May and sophomoreKimberly Gero combined for the second shutout in program history. Gero was in net for the program's first shutout.
It took Michigan 300 games as a program to get its first shutout (April 12 vs. George Washington) and only four more games to get the second one today against Gannon.
Sophomore Leah Robertson tied a team season-high with six steals. It marks her second six-steal game of the year.
With five points against Gannon, junior Julie Hyrne moved into a tie for fifth on the U-M single-season points list (84) with Sheetal Narsai (2005).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the shutout... "I am just totally surprised considering how long it took us to get one. We are just working to play good defense, and the girls are not aware of (the shutout) until the game is over. It shows that they have committed themselves more to defense as the year is ending. At this time of the year, you can't hold back on offense, defense, power plays, you name it. That is what they have done so far."
On looking ahead to the championship game... "We are happy with what we've done, but we have to be focused on what we need to do tonight."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
