ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo gave its seniors an 11-6 victory over No. 15 Indiana University on Senior Day at Canham Natatorium.
The atmosphere in Canham Natatorium was electric in the final home game for Emily Browning, Kimberly Graziano, Heidi Moreland, Kaitlyn Cozens, Allison Skaggs and Danielle Johnson.
The seniors were greeted by their teammates with arms raised to form a tunnel when they entered the building. The locker room was decorated, signs hung honoring the seniors and photo collages made by the parents were displayed. An appearance by the alumni band also added to the atmosphere as the seniors were presented flowers and balloons during a ceremony prior to the opening sprint.
The adrenaline from the activities led to a fast opening start for the Wolverines. Sophomore Julia Sellers fired in the game’s first goal just 51 seconds in. Indiana tied the game at 1-1, but U-M closed out the first quarter with three consecutive goals, including two by sophomore Kim Johnson and another for Sellers.
Michigan carried its momentum into the second period with three straight goals to make it a 6-0 run. Freshman Maddy Steere scored twice, including a goal off a nice Caroline Anderson pass to make it 7-1. Anderson scored the team’s other goal as U-M took a 7-3 lead at the half.
Indiana had a chance to build on the two straight goals it scored to end the first half, but perhaps the play of the game came at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter. Indiana drew a five-meter penalty foul with a chance to cut the lead to three goals. Instead, freshman goalkeeper Heidi Ritner stopped the penalty shot and Michigan countered with a goal by Skaggs at the other end of the pool to make it 8-3. It was 10-4 by the end of the period and U-M never looked back.
Sellers and Kim Johnson each netted hat tricks to lead the Wolverines. It was the fifth of the season for Sellers and fourth for Kim Johnson. Anderson and Steere each added two goals and two assists to aid in the underclassmen’s effort to give their seniors a victory in their final career home game.
Ritner was stellar in goal with 10 saves to start her conference career. It is her ninth game of the season with double-digit saves. She picked up the win to tie Alex Adamson for third most wins by a freshman in school history with 17.
The win was special for the six seniors and also gets the Wolverines off to a great start in conference play with a 1-0 record.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
