Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Rolls Past Indiana to Collect Sixth CWPA Championship
5/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan won its sixth CWPA title and first since 2010 to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
» Senior Ali Thomason was named the CWPA tournament MVP.
» Ali Thomason and Kim Johnson were named to the all-conference first team, and Danielle Johnson was picked to the second team.
Site: Cambridge, Mass. (Blodgett Pool)
Event: CWPA Championship (Final)
Score: #5 Michigan 9, #14 Indiana 2
Records: U-M (29-6), IU (23-7)
Next U-M Event: Monday, May 2 -- NCAA Selection Show (NCAA.com), 8 p.m.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan water polo team won its first CWPA championship since 2010 and sixth overall with a 9-2 victory over No. 14 Indiana on Sunday (May 1) at Harvard's Blodgett Pool.
The Wolverines made a statement in their first title game appearance since 2013. The defense dominated from start to finish, allowing only two goals, tying for the fewest allowed in a CWPA Championship game with 2004 when Hartwick topped U-M, 5-2. The seven-goal win is the largest margin of victory in school history in a CWPA final.
The title is the sixth for the Wolverines in 16 years of the program and first since 2010. U-M also earned championships in 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2009.
Michigan avenged a loss to Indiana in last year's CWPA Championship, a 9-8 overtime contest in the semifinals. The Hoosiers lost to Princeton in the CWPA championship game. This season, the Wolverines won both meetings against Indiana, also claiming an 11-8 victory on April 2 in Bloomington.
This time around, the Wolverines left no doubt who the best team in the conference was. Senior Ali Thomason set the tone for the game with steals on each of Indiana's first two possessions. It was over five minutes into the game before IU got its first shot on goal, a save by senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, junior Danielle Johnson put U-M on the board first, and sophomore Allison Skaggs tallied a quick back-handed goal to make it 2-0 after the first quarter.
The Wolverines continued to force the Hoosiers outside their comfort zone. Indiana was forced nearly to the halfway point in the pool on most possessions and struggled to get any flow in their offense. It was more than 10 minutes into the game before IU scored its first goal, a second attempt after Campbell made a save on a power-play chance.
At the half the Michigan led 5-1 and the pro-Michigan crowd could sense the championship in hand.
As big as Campbell and the U-M defense were in the first half, the third quarter is when U-M put the exclamation mark on the game. Campbell made five saves while not allowing a single goal. The power-play defense that was so big in the 9-8 semifinal win over Princeton was even better on Sunday, holding Indiana to just one goal on eight extra-man opportunities.
With a 7-1 lead, Dr. Marcelo Leonardi, in his second year at Michigan, began to sub more frequently to allow his bench some playing time. Indiana scored just one more goal on Campbell, but she finished the game with a season-high 13 saves. The defense had eight steals and three field blocks to assist in Campbell shutting down the Indiana offense.
On the offensive side, freshman Kim Johnson scored a game-high three goals to give her back-to-back hat tricks in the tournament. Skaggs and freshman Julia Sellers each scored twice, and sophomore Caroline Anderson had three assists.
As time expired on the clock, Leonardi waited for his players to come out of the water before the team as a collective group took the plunge into the water to celebrate the championship.
It was a feeling that was a long time coming for the Michigan players as none had experienced it, nor had Leonardi, the coach of the USA Youth National Team. He had won a gold medal but never a conference championship final.
Thomason, who set the Michigan single-season goals record on Friday and will be pursuing medical school, was named the tournament MVP with eight goals, four assists and eight steals in three games. Kim Johnson was picked as the top rookie to go with her regular-season Rookie of the Year honor; she tallied eight goals and one assist. Leonardi was tabbed the coach of the tournament, leading U-M to the title in just his second year at the helm.
Michigan also placed three individuals on the CWPA all-tournament team. Thomason and Kim Johnson were named to the first team, and Danielle Johnson was picked to the second team.
Prior to the game, the CWPA honored Michigan alum Shana Welch ('07) for her induction into the CWPA Hall of Fame. Welch joins Betsey Armstrong to become the second Wolverine in the Hall of Fame. Welch graduated from Michigan with a degree in sociology focusing on inequality: race, class and gender. She is on the U-M All-Decade team, was a third team All-America selection in 2005 and All-America honorable mention in 2006 and 2007.
Michigan will find out its seed for the NCAA Championship tomorrow (Monday, May 2) at 8 p.m. when the NCAA makes its official announcement during its selection show at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com.
