Michigan Looks for Record Fourth Straight CWPA Title

THIS WEEK
Sat-Sun., April 27-28 -- at CWPA Championship (Providence, R.I.)
Saturday, Apr. 27 -- vs. No. 16 Harvard or Brown (Providence, R.I.), 2:30 p.m.
Live Video
Sunday, Apr. 28 – First- or Third-Place game (Providence, R.I.), 10:30 a.m. or noon
Live Video

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (21-8) will aim for its fourth consecutive CWPA Championship Friday and Saturday (April 26-27) on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Winners of three straight CWPA titles, the Wolverines look to become the first team since Michigan joined the conference to win four in a row.

CWPA Championship

• Michigan will try to win its fourth consecutive CWPA Championship and ninth overall this weekend in Providence, Rhode Island.
• The Wolverines are 44-12 all-time in the CWPA Tournament with eight titles and 12 trips to the championship game.
• Michigan has won the CWPA Championship each of the last three years, defeating Princeton in both 2018 (11-8) and 2017 (5-4) and Indiana in 2016 (9-2).
• U-M also won three straight CWPA titles from 2008-10. Slippery Rock is the only program in CWPA history with more consecutive titles, winning six straight from 1991-96 before Michigan added water polo as a varsity sport.
• The U-M senior class has a 9-0 record in the CWPA Tournament and head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi is 10-2 in his four seasons in Ann Arbor.
• The Wolverines are the No. 1 seed and will have a first-round bye. They will take on the winner of the Harvard/Brown first-round matchup on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Regular Season

• Michigan finished the regular season with a 21-8 overall record.
• The Wolverines won 14 of their last 15 games to close the slate.
• Seven of the team's eight losses came to teams ranked in the top-10 with six of those against teams in the top four.
• U-M averaged 11.3 goals per game, while holding opponents to 7.66 goals per game.
• Michigan had a .402 shooting percentage and won 75 percent of its sprints.

Undefeated in Conference

• The Wolverines were a perfect 6-0 in CWPA play for their 11th undefeated conference season in 19 years of the program.
• That 6-0 record results in a 28-1 record in conference games over the last four seasons and 36-2 under Leonardi the last five years.
• Michigan outscored its conference opponents, 95-22, in the six wins -- an average margin of victory of more than 12 goals per game.
• The offense averaged 15.8 goals per game and shot .537 from the field. Six players shot 50 percent or better, including freshman Erin Neustrom who was a perfect 15-of-15 in the six conference games. Maddy Steere shot .727 and Julia Sellers shot .704.
• The defense held opponents to 3.67 goals per game. Junior Heidi Ritner had a 3.47 goals-against average and .698 save percentage. She allowed just 16 goals in six starts. Junior Cameron Cordial had a .714 save percentage in over 44 minutes of action.

Eye on Record Lists

• Abby Andrews already owns freshman records for assists (62) and points (113) in a season. She is eight assists shy of just the third 70-assist season in program history and seven points shy of the third 120-point season.
• Andrews is one of only four players to record 50 goals and 50 assists in the same season, joining Kim Johnson (2017), Caroline Anderson (2015) and Alison Mantel (2010).
• Johnson is six assists shy and Steere seven assists away from tying Kiki Golden and Lauren Orth for fourth on the U-M career list with 130.

Milestone Watch

• Heidi Ritner is 13 saves away from her third consecutive 200-save season. Only Betsey Armstrong has achieved that at Michigan.
• Maddy Steere is three points shy of becoming the eighth player in program history with 300 career points.
• Johnson is 12 points away from hitting the 350-point mark for her career. Only four other Wolverines have reached that milestone.
• Sellers is one assist shy of 100 for her career.