Season Review: 2019 Michigan Water Polo

• Team Captains: Delaney Cleveland, Kim Johnson, Julia Sellers
• CWPA Regular Season: 1st Place
• CWPA Championships: Champions
• NCAA Championship: Quarterfinals

The 2019 season marked the 19th year of the University of Michigan water polo program. Team 19 won the Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship for a program-best fourth straight year to earn the ninth NCAA Tournament automatic bid in school history. The Wolverines finished the year with a 23-9 record after losing to No. 3 UCLA in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

U-M defeated Princeton, 10-6, to capture the CWPA Championship after going undefeated in conference play during the regular season (6-0). The Wolverines are 36-2 in CWPA play under head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi in five seasons. Michigan finished the season with a No. 6 ranking, earning a top-10 final ranking for the fourth straight season.

Team Highlights

• Head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi has led the Wolverines to a .700 winning percentage or better in each of the last four years, winning 20 games or more all four seasons, earning the top seed for the CWPA Tournament three times and winning four straight conference championships.

• The Wolverines competed in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history. U-M battled early against No. 3-ranked UCLA before falling, 13-7, to the Bruins. It was the first time in school history that Michigan has made the NCAA Tournament four straight years.

• Michigan earned the four-peat as conference champions for the first time in program history as the senior class became the first at U-M to win four consecutive conference titles.

• U-M was ranked in the top 10 for all 18 polls of the 2019 season. The team was ranked No. 9 to start the preseason and climbed to No. 6 on Feb. 13. The Wolverines were ranked No. 6 in 13 of the final 14 polls.

• Michigan continued to challenge itself against the nation's best, playing seven games against teams ranked in the top five in 2019. U-M squared off against 14 top-10 teams on the year, posting a 6-8 record. Leonardi has matched his team up against a ranked team in 88.6 percent of the team's non-conference games over the last four seasons.

Maddy Steere

Individual Highlights

• Freshman Abby Andrews came to the University of Michigan in January and three weeks later was making an impact for a top-10 team. Andrews adjusted to life in a new country, at a new school and with a new team quickly to become a force for the Wolverines. She set school records for assists per game (2.22) and points per game (4.0) and freshman records with 71 assists and 128 points. She was the CWPA Rookie of the Year and Rookie of the Tournament, a second team All-CWPA selection and seven-time CWPA Rookie of the Week.

• Junior Maddy Steere was named the CWPA Player of the Year and was a first team All-CWPA choice. A three-time CWPA Player of the Week, Steere did a little bit of everything for Michigan. She was second on the team in assists (42) and points (97) and third on the team in goals (55) and steals (25).

• Senior Julia Sellers led the team in goals for the second straight year with 65 goals. She was the CWPA Tournament MVP and an All-CWPA second-team choice. She earned three CWPA weekly honors and tallied 84 points, 22 steals and 10 field blocks. She had an impressive .478 shooting percentage on the season and shot .704 with a team-high 19 goals in conference play.

• Junior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner reached 20 wins and 200 saves for the third straight season. She was first team All-CWPA and started all 32 games for Michigan.

• Freshman Erin Neustrom provided an inside presence for the Wolverines. Not only did she set a freshman record with 60 drawn exclusions to rank second on the team, she also had a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage in conference play with goals on all 15 of her shot attempts.

Senior Day photo