University of Michigan-vs.-Princeton University Scoresheet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 6-ranked the University of Michigan made history as the Wolverines downed No. 15 Princeton University, 10-6, at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center to claim the program’s fourth consecutive Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship.
Nine-time league champion (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) Michigan (23-8) becomes the first team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship era (2001-to-present) to win four consecutive women’s CWPA Championships. Slippery Rock University holds the league record for most consecutive league championships at nine (1988-1996), but women’s water polo was not an NCAA-recognized sport at that time of the Rock’s run.
The Wolverines improve to 46-12 all-time at the championship, including a 40-11 mark since 2001, as the team takes the league’s NCAA Championship automatic berth.
Michigan lead from wire-to-wire against four-time league champion (2000, 2012, 2013, 2015) Princeton (20-9) as 2019 CWPA Most Valuable Player Maddy Steere (Jr., Pascoe Vale, Australia/St. Catherine’s School) lined in a five-meter penalty shot 23 seconds into the game to stake the Maize & Blue to a lead it would not relinquish.
Julia Sellers (Sr., Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill), who claimed CWPA Championship Most Valuable Player honors following the conclusion of the title tilt and picked up Player of the Game accolades, added to the margin by putting away an even-strength chance at 4:40.
Princeton cut its deficit in half at the 2:55 mark as Amy Castellano (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Yorba Linda) converted on a man-up bid at 2:55, but Kathy Rogers (So., New Forest, England/Trinity School) and Sellers closed out the opening frame with power-play (2:00) and natural (1:20) scores to provide the Wolverines a 4-1 margin at the close of the opening eight minutes of action.
2019 CWPA Rookie of the Year and Rookie of the Tournament Abby Andrews (Fr., Indooroopilly, Australia/Brisbane Girls Grammar School) further cushioned the spread to 5-1 36 seconds into the second quarter as Michigan continued to pull away from Princeton.
Laura Larkin (Fr., Solana Beach, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) got the goal back with 4:36 remaining in the first half to move the Tigers back within three at 5-2, but Andrews struck again at 2:11 to extend Michigan’s lead back to four at 6-2 heading into the break.
Neither team scored again until the second half of the third quarter when Rogers (4:06) and Maddy Johnston (So., Hillsborough, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) (3:32) found the back of the cage with consecutive shots to enlarge the margin to 8-2.
Lindsey Kelleher (Sr., South Pasadena, Calif./Polytechnic) trimmed the Tigers’ deficit back to five at 8-3 with 3:03 on the clock, but a successful five-meter penalty shot by Sellers at 2:29 provided Michigan a 9-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Princeton attempted to climb back into the game in the final frame as Castellano (5:50) and Larkin (4:08) finished six-on-five tries to cut the distance between the teams to 9-5. However, Steere (1:36) connected on a strike to make it 10-5 before Eliza Britt (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) responded for Princeton with 50 seconds left to establish the 10-6 final score.
For Michigan, Sellers (three), Steere (two), Rogers (two) and Andrews (two) all notched multi-goal games with Johnston tacking on a solo marker. In cage, Heidi Ritner (Jr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) stopped five shots to earn the victory.
The win was historic on a number of levels for the Maize & Blue:
- In the history of the CWPA Championship, Michigan has now finished Fifth (2001), First (2002, 7-6 W OT SD vs. Hartwick College at Princeton), third (2003), second (2004, 5-2 L vs. Hartwick at Bucknell University), first (2005, 8-7 W at Indiana Unviersity), second (2006, 11-8 L vs. Hartwick at Brown), fourth (2007), first (2008, 10-7 W vs. Hartwick at Michigan), first (2009, 12-6 W vs. Hartwick at Harvard University), first (2010, 7-5 W vs. Indiana at University of Maryland), second (2011, 5-3 L at Indiana), third (2012), second (2013, 7-5 L vs. Princeton at Michigan), third (2014), fourth (2015), first (2016, 9-2 W vs. Indiana at Harvard), first (2017, 5-4 W vs. Princeton at Indiana) and first (2018, 11-8 W vs. Princeton at Bucknell) since 2001.
- No active team has appeared in more CWPA title games than Michigan with 13, shattering the previous league record of 10 title berths held by Slippery Rock University (1988-to-1997).
- Michigan had never won a championship at Brown as the Wolverines finished Fifth in 2001 (7-4 L vs. Brown, 10-6 W vs. George Washington University, 8-2 W vs. Indiana), Second in 2006 (6-5 W vs. Brown, 8-5 W vs. Princeton, 11-8 L vs. Hartwick) and Third in 2012 (12-8 W vs. Bucknell, 9-8 L vs. Maryland, 10-7 W vs. Brown)
- Since women’s water polo became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsored varsity sport, no varsity team (men’s or women’s) had ever won more than three consecutive CWPA crowns as Michigan (2008-10) achieved the mark on the women’s side and the United States Naval Academy achieved the same on the men’s side (2006-08).
On the other end of the tank, Larkin and Castellano both scored twice to accompany single goals by Britt and Kelleher. Goalie Marissa Webb (So., Danville, Calif./San Ramon) took the loss with six stops.
The game marked Princeton’s eighth title game appearance as Princeton fell to Indiana (11-10 L in 2014 at Bucknell), Hartwick College (8-6 L in 2007 at Princeton), Brown (11-10 L OT SD in 2001 at Brown) and Michigan (5-4 L in 2017 at Indiana; 11-8 L in 2018 at Bucknell), while claiming the 2000 (6-4 W vs. University of Massachusetts at Princeton), 2012 (6-5 W vs. University of Maryland at Brown), 2013 (7-5 W at Michigan) and 2015 (7-6 W vs. Indiana at Princeton) crowns.
Further, it marked the third time in as many years Michigan and Princeton battled for the league title with the Wolverines taking all three meetings. Historically, since 2008, either Michigan (2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) or Princeton (2012, 2013, 2015) has claimed 10 of the possible 12 titles with former CWPA member Indiana University accounting for the 2011 and 2014 championships.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, the 2019 CWPA Championship All-Tournament Team was announced:
2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship All-Tournament Team | |
Most Valuable Player: | Julia Sellers (University of Michigan) |
Rookie of the Tournament: | Abby Andrews (University of Michigan) |
Coach of the Tournament: | Derek Ellingson (Princeton University) |
First Team | |
Heidi Ritner (Goalie) | University of Michigan |
Maddy Steere | University of Michigan |
Abby Andrews | University of Michigan |
Julia Sellers | University of Michigan |
Lindsey Kelleher | Princeton University |
Ally Furano | Bucknell University |
Kristen Hong | Harvard University |
Second Team | |
Marissa Webb (Goalie) | Princeton University |
Amy Castellano | Princeton University |
Maddie Pendolino | Princeton University |
Eliza Britt | Princeton University |
Grace Thawley | Harvard University |
Mathilde Ribordy | Harvard University |
Carissa Perez | Brown University |
Alana Ponce | George Washington University |
1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
Princeton University | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | – | 6 |
University of Michigan | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 10 |
Michigan Goals: | Julia Sellers (3); Kathy Rogers (2); Abby Andrews (2); Maddy Steere (2); Maddy Johnston | |||||
Princeton Goals: | Laura Larkin (2); Amy Castellano (2); Eliza Britt; Lindsey Kelleher | |||||
Saves: | Michigan – Heidi Ritner (5) ; Princeton – Marissa Webb (6) | |||||
Exclusions: | Michigan – 10 ; Princeton – 13 | |||||
Advantage Opportunities: | Michigan – 3-for-13 ; Princeton – 3-for-10 | |||||
Sprints: | Michigan – 3-for-4 (1st, 2nd, 3rd) ; Princeton – 1-for-4 (4th) | |||||
Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
Officials: | Alex Stankevitch; Val Vasilchikov |
University of Michigan’s Kim Johnson (#10) defends Princeton University’s Lindsey Kelleher (#18)
University of Michigan’s Julia Sellers (#12)
Princeton University’s Alana Evans (#5)
Princeton University’s Kallie McGeoy (#9)
2019 CWPA Champion – University of Michigan
2019 CWPA Championship Coach of the Tournament: Derek Ellingson (Princeton University)
2019 CWPA Championship Rookie of the Tournament: Abby Andrews (University of Michigan)
2019 University of Michigan Coaches: Assistant Coach Sydney Sonoda, Head Coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi, Assistant Coach Josh Hower
Princeton University seniors Eliza Britt & Lindsey Kelleher accept the Second Place plaque