Michigan
Iona
Celebrated Seniors Give Michigan Two Wins at Wolverine Invite
3/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Event: Wolverine Invitational
Scores: #15 Michigan 15, Iona 8; #15 Michigan 10, Marist 2
Record: U-M (19-8); Iona (4-4), Marist (9-9)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 15 -- host Wolverine Invitational (Canham Natatorium)
Results | Photo Gallery | Notes & Quotes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan water polo team clinched victories over Iona, 15-8, and Marist, 10-2, to complete a perfect opening day of the Wolverine Invitational on Saturday (March 14) at Canham Natatorium.
Michigan's senior class, which was honored prior to the evening's game, accounted for 60 percent of the U-M offense and had 10 points in the Marist contest. Senior Mary Chatigny(Palm Springs, Calif./Palm Springs) led her classmates with a hat trick, while Carrie Frost(Saline, Mich./Saline) had two goals and three steals against the Red Foxes. Seniors Kelsey Haley(Portola Valley, Calif./Menlo), Julie Hyrne(Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) and Carrie Stover(Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) all had points in the contest, while Sharayah Hernandez(Pico Rivera, Calif./El Rancho) and Sarah Davila(Yorba Linda, Calif./El Dorado) anchored the Wolverines as part of the starting lineup.
Chatigny was one of three Wolverines to turn in a hat trick on the day. Sophomores Cara Reitz(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) and Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) also dented the twine on three occasions. Reitz's came against the Gaels and Mantel's against Marist. Sophomore Lauren Orth(Poway, Calif./Poway) tallied her second playmaker in as many days against the Red Foxes. Senior/junior Brittany May(Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) had 13 saves on 20 shots, tending the net for all but one period on the day.
The Wolverines and Red Foxes got into a heated defensive battle to open the first period. After a strong defensive stand just over three minutes into the game, Hyrne launched a pass to a countering Frost. Hyrne's pass hit Frost midstroke, allowing her to cruise in on net. Frost faked three times before rocketing a shot into the back of the cage. Marist tried to respond on the next trip down, but May was there to make one of many spectacular saves. Just over two minutes later, Stover sent a pass to Chatigny who found a hole top shelf to give U-M a 2-0 lead. May made it stand up with an outstretched save on a shot from five meters with just over a minute left in the frame.
Michigan's offense began to start to find a groove in the second period with sophomore Alison Mantel(Miami, Fla./Gulliver) scoring the first of three inside two minutes of the start of the period. Frost put U-M ahead by a 4-0 margin 2:43 into the period, cycloning a backhand into the nearside of the net. Marist was finally able to solve the Wolverine defense just past the midway point of the period to pull within 4-1. The Red Foxes came close to cutting the U-M lead to two goals two minutes later, but May thwarted a cross-cage one-timer with a lurching save. After the Wolverine netminder turned in another big stop with 15 seconds left, Michigan raced down the pool to put one more up, off the hand of Mantel, with three seconds left to give the Maize and Blue a 5-1 advantage at the break.
Orth continued to be invincible on five-meter tosses, converting one 24 seconds into the second half. Haley and Hyrne got together a minute later to put Michigan up, 7-1. A fully-covered Hyrne flicked a pass to Haley on the left side where she had room to float a shot inside the far bar. Mantel completed her hat trick on a power-play strike with Orth's first assist of the night.
The final stanza belonged to Chatigny and Orth as they worked together on both of U-M's fourth quarter markers. Orth flung a pass that bisected the pool to Chatigny on a breakout down the right side. Chatigny cruised in and fired home a shot. After Marist put in their second goal of the night, Orth used the same formula to set up the final goal in Chatigny's hat trick. Orth, this time passing from the right side, launched a mirror image pass to the senior streaking down the left side with similar results to give U-M a 10-2 advantage. May was challenged one last time with three minutes left but once again answered the bell.
Iona jumped out of the gate early, scoring twice in the first two minutes to go up by a 2-1 tally. Michigan eventually settled in and took control of the scoring on three unanswered goals. Sophomore Sarah Roberts(Costa Mesa, Calif. /Newport Harbor) leveled the score at 2-2 on a whipped shot from the two meter set. Hyrne and Hernandez got together on a give-and-go less than a minute later for a power-play tally. Hernandez got her own goalie with 2:45 left in the frame, using a double clutch to pull the goalie before depositing it into the cage to give the Wolverines a 4-2 advantage.
Michigan was able to foil the Gaels attempts to score early again in the second frame thanks to a May save off an Iona counterattack. Junior Leah Robertson(Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) added to the Wolverine lead, going half the length of the pool before tallying the only even strength goal of the period. Iona scored a power-play goal 5:26 into the period and U-M answered with one of its own less than 20 seconds later. Inside the final two minutes of the frame, Orth slammed home a penalty shot goal followed by a 6-on-5 for each team to send the 8-4 contest into the break.
The Maize and Blue continued its strong power-play work with a goal by Hyrne two minutes into the third frame. Hernandez threaded the needle through a crowd of defenders where Hyrne was able to get just enough on the ball to send it into the cage. Hernandez and sophomore Ryley Plunkett(Modesto, Calif./Johansen) got tallies of their own to put U-M ahead by an 11-4 count. Each team would again alternate scoring on 6-on-5s to conclude the period.
Cobb began a period long cat and mouse game that made up the fourth quarter. Freshman Meagan Cobb(Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville), playing at two meters, climbed a ladder out of the water to catch a pass from Frost and power the ball over the goalkeeper and in. Iona tallied two power-play goals, interrupted by a Frost laser from seven meters. Brown capped the U-M scoring, sending a shot through a crowd on its way to the net. Iona added one last goal with 13 seconds remaining, but it was not enough to overcome the 15-8 Michigan lead.
Michigan will host Iona at 10:30 a.m. and Villanova at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday (March 14) for day two of the Wolverine Invitational at Canham Natatorium. Following the conclusion of the invitational, the Wolverines will face Marist in an exhibition contest at 4 p.m.
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Iona | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Michigan | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
IONA Goals: Maggie Wood 3, Mackenzie Mone 3, Lauren Peterson, Amanda Brucia.
U-M Goals: Cara Reitz 3, Julie Hyrne 2, Sharayah Hernandez 2, Carrie Frost, Leah Robertson, Milli Brown, Meagan Cobb, Sarah Roberts, Lauren Orth, Ryley Plunkett.
Saves: U-M 3 (Brittany May 3; Morgan Turner 0)
Ejections: U-M 10, IONA 12
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Marist | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Michigan | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
MAR Goals: Katelin McCahill 2.
U-M Goals: Mary Chatigny 3, Alison Mantel 3, Carrie Frost 2, Kelsey Haley, Lauren Orth.
Saves: U-M 11 (Brittany May)
Ejections: U-M 8, MAR 6
N O T E S
With two assists against Iona, senior Sharayah Hernandez moved into a tie for fifth on the U-M career assists list. Hernandez matches Shana Welch's (2004-07) 97 career helpers.
Senior Kelsey Haley's two assists against Iona and junior Leah Robertson's three helpers on the day moved them both into a three-way tie for eighth on the U-M career list. The two now have 85 assists, matching Jo Antonsen (2002-05).
Senior Carrie Frost's three goals today give her 110 on her career. She moved past Erin Brown (109, 2002-05) and into sixth place on the all-time list.
Frost also tallied four points to skip past Julie Nisbet (190, 2001-04) and into seventh place on the Michigan career list. Frost has 192 points in her career.
With 14 saves on the day, senior/junior Brittany May upped her 2009 total to 119 blocks. The total is the eighth-most in a season for a Wolverine netminder. She passed Sally Stone's 2005 total of 114 saves. May posted the sixth-most saves, 182, in a season during the 2008 campaign.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the senior class... "They have meant everything to this program. When they came in (as freshmen), I gave them a challenge for how they were to conduct themselves out of the pool, in the pool and academically. Making them into Michigan women. They took charge of stepping up to the challenge and have meant everything to the history of this program. I could not be happier with how they have turned out as athletes and women. They have just been outstanding."
On the defensive effort against Marist... "They really stepped up. It is an emotional night because it is senior night. I just gave them a few specifics that I wanted them to focus on, knowing the emotion of acknowledging seven ladies was going to be pretty strong and they executed. We played like we wanted to and had them do what we wanted them to, and Brittany May had an outstanding game. Marist is a good team, coming off of an NCAA run last year and has a very good chance of going back this year. Hats off to how we played defense, we really stepped it up."
On the play of Brittany May... "We have been nursing Brittany back to health, so we haven't been playing her two games in a row and the other goalies have stepped up. This weekend, we decided to go two good games in a row with Brittany. We as a team are, probably, as healthy as we have been all season and we still are not fully healthy. So it is good to see where we are now and it is good to see where we could be when we are completely healthy."
U-M Senior Mary Chatigny
On an emotional day for her and her class... "I never thought the day would come. I know it sounds clich, but it seems like yesterday I was a freshman and our seniors were leaving and they were all sappy and emotional. I never thought that I would be here today with a group of girls that I can say are my lifetime best friends, playing one of the last games ever at Canham Natatorium -- it is a great feeling."
On her hat trick... "I didn't even know I had a hat trick until after the game. It is really nice to know I went out with a bang. Everyone went out with a bang, I am so proud of these girls."
U-M Senior/Junior Brittany May
On what the senior class means to the team... "I have only been here since last year, but I feel like our team is so close and it is unlike any team I have ever been on. It doesn't matter what year you are, everyone is just so close. Today, during intros, I started crying because I can't imagine next year without them. It was so great that everyone contributed today and that all of the seniors got to start. It was cool to get to be a part of it. I feel like I was more fired up because I thought so much about our team before the game and you want to go out hard for the seniors."
On the defensive effort in front of her... "Everyone went with the game plan. We pressed up on the five-meter shots and everyone was doing a good job of helping back on two meters. It seems like we are really connecting again. We have been a little off the past few weekends, so it is really nice to have that coming back heading into the home stretch. I felt like everyone was really aware on defense today and that made a big difference for me."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
