ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Senior Heidi Moreland has become the leader of the second unit for the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team and will try to guide the Wolverines to a successful weekend in her hometown of La Jolla, California, this weekend.
This will be the second time in her collegiate career that Moreland will get to showcase her hometown to her teammates. In 2015, the Wolverines also competed at the University of California-San Diego Triton Invitational. Moreland scored a goal in a 10-5 win over California State Unviersity-East Bay and against University of California-Santa Barbara in a 6-4 victory as U-M won its last three games to place ninth overall.
“It is different this year because Beth (Williams) was also from San Diego when we went in 2015,” said Moreland. “There is a familiarity with the pool and the surrounding area. It is comforting driving around the area.”
The team is scheduled to visit Moreland’s house after Saturday’s pair of games, so Moreland hopes that the team’s “bench mob” can provide a spark and help them to two victories leading into that gathering.
“We are playing some good teams this weekend and this will be a good chance for our second unit to step up and show what we can do,” said Moreland.
Head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi has looked to Moreland to be a leader on the bench. She has an important role of giving good minutes as the secondary defender and also providing a lot of energy off the bench.
“Her role is to be a spark plug of energy,” said Leonardi. “She is the one who comes in and we don’t miss a beat. Her leadership and communication hold our second unit together. She also does a great job on the bench as an emotional leader, keeping things in check.”
Moreland warms up with the first unit prior to games and does more than just provide rest for the starters. The second and third unit is looked to as a scout team, running opposing team’s plays in practice leading up to games. Moreland makes sure everyone is doing their job correctly and has a good knowledge of opposing teams.
“Our level of play goes up because we are always playing against the first unit in practice,” said Moreland. “We compete against strong players every day.”
Facing a talented starting group has the bench mob battle tested for any game, but when the entire second unit is in the pool the one they look to is Moreland.
“Heidi is definitely our leader on the second unit,” said junior Laura Jimenez. “We look to her in the water to call out plays and keep us leveled. On the bench, she keeps us motivated and encourages us.”
Throughout games, the bench players do a great job of providing boosts of energy and encouragement to the players in the pool. A job Moreland takes seriously.
“We are pretty loud on the bench,” said Moreland. “We need to be positive and loud so the people playing can hear us and get the energy flowing. I have to be really positive and try to motivate people to be ready to go in.”
When their number is called Moreland makes sure they are ready to help the team win. It is a hard job to come off the bench and maintain a high level of play, but Leonardi recognizes it can be the difference between winning and losing.
“Our bench is super important because they have to be ready to play and bring energy,” said Leonardi. “When things break down they are called on to step up and help us win games.”
Moreland and her bench mob will get a chance to do just that when they play in her hometown of La Jolla, California, at the Triton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
