Top-Seeded Michigan to Host CWPA Championship at Canham Natatorium

» Michigan will host the four-team CWPA Championship on Saturday (April 24) at Canham Natatorium.
» The semifinals pit Michigan against Mount St. Mary's and Bucknell against Saint Francis.
» The Wolverines have won the last four CWPA titles dating back to 2016.
» The CWPA champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

THIS WEEK: CWPA Championship
Saturday, April 24 -- vs. Mount Saint Mary's (Canham Natatorium), 10 a.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
Saturday, April 24 -- vs. Bucknell or St. Francis (Canham Natatorium), 4 or 7 p.m.
Live Stats: Third-Place Game | Championship Game | Live Video
Tournament Central

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The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan water polo team (19-4, 6-0 CWPA) will be looking to win its fifth consecutive CWPA title when it hosts the four-team CWPA Championship on Saturday (April 24) at Canham Natatorium.

Michigan will open vs. Mount St. Mary's at 10 a.m., while Bucknell will face Saint Francis at 1 p.m. The consolation match is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the championship match at 7 p.m. All four events will be shown live on Stretch Internet.

The CWPA champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, scheduled for May 14-16 at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center in Los Angeles, Calif.

Team Notes

• The Wolverines posted a 6-0 record in CWPA games this year and enter the tournament in familiar fashion as the No. 1 seed. Michigan has won each of the last four CWPA Championship events dating back to the 2016 season. There was not a tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic.

• Michigan was ranked No. 8 in the latest CWPA Varsity Top 25 poll, released April 14. The next poll is due out Wednesday (April 21).

• Since a 7-6 overtime loss at San Diego State on March 7, U-M has won 12 straight by a combined score of 173-50 for an average margin of more than 10 goals (14.4-4.2). A suffocating Michigan defense has held opponents to five goals or fewer in 10 of those 12 contests.

• The Wolverines are proving to have good depth in goal. Backing up Heidi Ritner (11-3, .598 save percentage) this year, Alex Brown and Sophie Jackson have for an 8-1 record, making 110 saves and conceding only 56 goals in 352 minutes.

• Centers Erin Neustrom and Libby Alsemgeest have been effective at close range for the Wolverines. The duo has 49 goals on 101 shots, good for a 49 percent shooting percentage. They have also drawn 54 exclusions.

• Since the start of last season, Maddie O'Reilly has been electric, averaging more than three points per game (3.40). In those 42 games, she has tallied 143 points on 80 goals and 63 assists.

• This season Maddie O'Reilly leads the Maize and Blue with 73 points (44G, 29A), followed by Kata Utassy (32-15-47) and Ava Morrant (22-15-37).

• A trio of Wolverines received CWPA weekly honors following a perfect 4-0 week April 5-11 that saw the team sweep No. 13-ranked Pacific with additional wins over No. 21-ranked Bucknell and No. 25-ranked Saint Francis. Sofie Pontré was named Player of the Week, Heidi Ritner was Defensive Player of the Week and Kata Utassy was Rookie of the Week. » Awards & Honors

Opponent Previews

Bucknell: No. 20 Bucknell (7-3) finished its regular season on a three-game winning streak after defeating Mount St. Mary's 20-3 and Saint Francis (Pa.) 14-9 on Saturday (April 17).

Saint Francis: Saint Francis (9-11) split its weekend series, losing to Bucknell, 14-9, before rebounding to defeat Mount Saint Mary's by a score of 19-5. The team is led by Taylor Halbauer's 40 goals, while Addison Williams is close behind with 34 tallies. Halbauer also leads the defense with 27 steals, while Carissa Semple is second in that category with 21 steals.

Mount Saint Mary's: Over the weekend, freshman Riley Thompson recorded her first hat trick against Saint Francis, scoring four times on nine shots as Mount St. Mary's (0-13) dropped both of its games against SFU and Bucknell. The Mount has not scored more than eight goals in a game this season, while opposing teams have scored at least 15 goals in every contest.