Wolverines Cruise in Opening Game of Eastern Championship

Friday, April 25

Ann Arbor, Mich.

11:00 AM

Michigan

Mercyhurst

Wolverines Cruise in Opening Game of Eastern Championship

4/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Eastern Championship (Quarterfinals)
Score: #11 Michigan 14, Mercyhurst 2
Records: U-M (31-9), Mercyhurst (14-7)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 26 -- vs. Princeton in Eastern Championship (Canham Natatorium), 6:30 p.m.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan water polo team advanced to the semifinal round of the Eastern Championship by ousting Mercyhurst, 14-2, Friday (April 25) in Canham Natatorium. The host and top-seeded Wolverines had an 8-1 lead at halftime en route to the victory over the eighth-seeded Lakers. Sophomore Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) had three steals to lead the defensive effort as she moved into a tie for the program's career record with 202 thefts.

Freshman Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor) netted a hat trick, with all of her goals coming in the fourth period. Juniors Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) and Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) chipped in a pair of markers each, while junior Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) and freshmen Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Ryley Plunkett(Modesto, Mich./Johansen) had a goal and two helpers each. Junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) made nine stops, including three on the penalty kill and a five-meter penalty shot, to go with a pair of assists in the win.

The Lakers opened the scoring with Rachel Griepsma bouncing a shot over the goalie's head from the right side at 6:35. The Wolverines responded, however, with four straight goals to hold a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. Hyrne tied the game on a backhand shot from two meters at 5:20, and Chatigny put U-M on top, 2-1, with a power-play tally from six meters out at 3:44. Reitz feathered a pass across the front of the cage that sophomore Terri Bukofzer(Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) redirected into the back of the cage at 2:06, and Mantel capped the scoring with another six-on-five goal with 30 seconds left in the opening stanza.

Michigan doubled its goal total in the second period with another four markers, all inside the four-minute mark. Hyrne scored her second goal of the afternoon on a two-on-one feed from junior Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) to start the surge. Thirty-five seconds later, Chatigny went coast to coast down the left side for her second marker. Reitz and Frost alternated goal scorer and playmaker, getting together at 2:09 and 1:35 to give the Maize and Blue an 8-1 lead. The Lakers tried to stifle the streak before the break on a two-meter attempt, but May made a lunging save with her left arm to steer the shot off of its intended path of the far corner.

Keller Felt(La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) scored in the opening minute of the third quarter to put U-M up 9-1. The Lakers ended U-M's nine-goal run with a lob shot at 4:15, but Michigan's Rylee Plunkett(Modesto, Calif./Johansen) responded at 2:21 with a perfectly placed shot into the top right corner from seven meters out.

Roberts rattled off a natural hat trick in the first 3:09 of the fourth quarter. Using a diversified attack, Roberts scored on a lob shot from four meters, a backhander in close, and a howitzer blast into the back of the cage. It took Roberts just over two minutes to extend U-M's lead to 13-2. Sophomore Farren Rixter(Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) capped the scoring at 4:28 from two meters.

The Wolverines will face No. 4 seed Princeton, a 7-6 winner over No. 5 seed Bucknell in Friday's second game, in the semifinal round Saturday (April 26) at 6:30 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

By Periods	1	2	3	4	F
Mercyhurst	1	0	1	0	2
Michigan	4	4	2	4	14
Mercyhurst Goals -- Rachel Griepsma, Rhonda Marable. Michigan Goals -- Sarah Roberts 3, Julie Hyrne 2, Mary Chatigny 2, Terri Bukofzer, Alison Mantel, Cara Reitz, Carrie Frost, Keller Felt, Ryley Plunkett, Farren Rixter.