Michigan
Brown
Wolverines Clinch No. 1 Seed for CWPA Tournament
4/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
» Michigan extended its winning streak to 12 games.
» U-M clinched the No. 1 seed for the CWPA Tournament with a 7-0 conference record.
» Goalkeeper Heidi Ritner broke Betsey Armstrong's freshman record of 23 wins.
Site: Oneonta, N.Y. (Moyer Pool)
Scores: #7 Michigan 16, Brown 2; #7 Michigan 16, #17 Hartwick 10
Records: U-M (24-8, 7-0 CWPA), Brown (16-4, 0-1 CWPA), Hartwick (18-8, 2-1 CWPA)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 9 -- vs. Harvard (Oneonta, N.Y.), Noon
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team faced unique challenges on Saturday (April 8) but managed to overcome them for two more wins in CWPA play.
Playing for the first time this season in a shallow-deep pool offered a number of challenges for the Wolverines both on offense and defense, but U-M was ready for anything that came its way. Head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi used the week of practice leading in to go over the different dynamics such as a smaller pool, no warmup areas, bigger cage on the shallow end of the pool and the different ways the referees may call the game due to the different dimensions.
"In practice, we really work on our defensive mobility and keeping our hips up," said senior captain Allison Skaggs. "That was extremely important today in the shallow end to show that we weren't touching the bottom or using the bottom to gain an advantage. We played some really great defense and were able to get out quick on the counter."
The Wolverines showed no signs of the outside factors being a bother in the first game as they cruised to a 16-2 win over Brown. No. 17 Hartwick drew a large crowd for its "Code Blue" event. U-M pulled away late, winning 16-10 to improve to 24-8 overall and 7-0 in the conference. U-M has now won 12 straight games and clinched the top seed for the CWPA Tournament.
"The cage was taller than I was expecting," said freshman Heidi Ritner, who broke Betsey Armstrong's freshman record for wins with her 23rd of the year. "We worked a lot on working in the smaller space and getting the ball out quicker on the counter attacks."
Game 1: #7 Michigan 16, Brown 2
The Wolverines used an extended 30-minute warmup prior to their first game of the weekend to get used to their surroundings.
The time worked out as freshman Maddy Steere put one in the cage on the first shot of the game just 15 seconds in. She added a five-meter penalty shot at the 5:09 mark, and Michigan held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.
The two teams switched sides at the quarter due to the shallow-deep setup. Shooting on the shallow end just increased the offense for U-M, as it was 6-0 before Brown scored its first goal. Senior Allison Skaggs had a hat trick in the second quarter, and Michigan's offense put up six goals to take a 9-1 halftime lead.
U-M tacked on five more goals in the third quarter as sophomore Julia Sellers hit the hat-trick mark. Senior Kimberly Graziano got an opening look with 47 seconds left and finished to make it 14-1. Freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner had a terrific game in the cage for the Wolverines. She exited after three periods with eight saves and only one goal allowed. The difference in setup did not affect the rookie.
Freshman Skyler Pyle, who put a dent in a trash can at Moyer Pool during warmups with a hard shot, carried her strength into the game as she had two goals. Her second came late in the fourth to finish off Brown, 16-2.
Skaggs led the team with four goals, while Sellers picked up her seventh hat trick of the year. Sophomore Kim Johnson recorded one goal and four assists, and junior Caroline Anderson returned to the lineup after missing last weekend to dish out six assists.
Steere finished with two goals and two assists, moving past Johnson into third on the freshman single-season points list with 86 and into second in freshman assists with 41.
Game 2: #7 Michigan 16, #17 Hartwick 10
Michigan jumped on the board first when Kim Johnson scored 58 seconds in. The two teams traded goals through the first quarter until senior Danielle Johnson spurred a 4-0 run with a goal at the 2:32 mark.
The Wolverines built a 6-2 lead by the 5:40 mark of the second period and then traded goals again until it was 8-5 at the half.
The second half had an unorthodox start to it. Sellers scored just 11 seconds in, but Hartwick challenged the goal, claiming the table crew never waived their player in when the exclusion was over. The goal was taken away, and Michigan retained possession. Soon after, the Hawks cut the lead to two goals. With a 9-7 lead midway through the third period, the Wolverines went on another run. Sellers, who had the goal taken away earlier in the period, scored twice, and Michigan closed out the quarter with three unanswered to stretch the lead to five.
The big play came after Sellers' second goal started the run. Michigan was called for a penalty foul on Hartwick's next possession, but Ritner came up big with the save to keep the home side from cutting the lead back to two goals.
Hartwick never got closer than three goals after that save. Michigan stretched the lead to as much as seven goals late in the fourth quarter and walked away with the 16-10 win.
Sellers finished with a game-high four goals to go with one assist. Sophomore Delaney Cleveland drew the start in place of Anderson and came up big with three goals and four assists. Kim Johnson had two goals and five assists.
Ritner finished off a huge day with 11 saves, two assists and two steals to pass Armstrong with her 23rd win of the season.
Michigan will play its final game of the regular season tomorrow (Sunday, April 9) in Oneonta, New York. The Wolverines take on No. 20 Harvard for a chance to finish undefeated in conference play for the second straight year. The game will take place at noon.
