LEWISBURG, Pa. — The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team clinched the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship after two victories on the campus of Bucknell University.
The Wolverines faced two teams tied at No. 18 in the rankings and emerged victorious in both games, improving to 5-0 in conference play this season and 20-8 overall this season. It is the fourth straight season with 20 or more wins for the maize and blue.
Michigan started the day with a 17-2 win over Harvard University and then handed Bucknell a 16-6 loss on their senior night.
Junior goalkeeper Heidi Ritner earned her 100th career start in the cage in the afternoon contest against Harvard and had one of the better games of her career. The Newport Beach, Calif., native had a season-high 14 saves and allowed just two goals. She matched her career best for fewest goals allowed in a complete game.
Michigan received some stellar performances on the offensive end as well. With one goal and four assists, freshman Abby Andrews reached 100 points on the season, becoming the 15th player in school history and just the third freshman to do so.
Junior Maddy Steere scored a season-high five goals to go with one assist and two steals. Senior Julia Sellers added four goals to give her nine games with three goals or more on the year. Sophomore Sofie Pontré tallied a career-high four points with two goals and two assists. Classmate Maddy Johnston matched her career high of five points, notching three goals and two assists to put her over 100 career points.
U-M allowed only one goal in the first half. Through four conference games, the Wolverines have held opponents to a total of three goals in the first half.
Michigan and Harvard were tied at one-all after the first quarter, but the Wolverines blew the doors open the rest of the game with at least five goals in each quarter. After the Crimson scored the first goal of the game, U-M went on a 16-0 run over a span of 28:21 before Harvard cracked the scoreboard again.
Following a senior day presentation, the 18th-ranked Bison came ready to play. Bucknell quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the game, but senior Kim Johnson scored at the 5:27 mark in the first quarter to stop the early momentum.
Johnson posted a hat trick in the opening period and Andrews added two goals as U-M overtook the home team for a 5-3 advantage after eight minutes.
Bucknell kept the game close at halftime, trailing Michigan by three goals (8-5). In the second half, the U-M defense held the Bison to just one goal while the Wolverines scored eight goals, four in each period.
Andrews had a big day for the Wolverines with four goals and two assists. Her two assists gave her 57 on the season, breaking Caroline Anderson‘s freshman assists record of 56 in 2015.
Johnson also tallied six points for a season high, adding three assists to her three goals from the first quarter. Freshman Erin Neustrom matched her season best with four goals, converting all four of her shots into scores.
Ritner followed up a terrific game against Harvard with five saves and six goals allowed in 27:27 minutes against Bucknell. Junior Cameron Cordial replaced her for the final 4:33 and did not give up a goal, while stopping two shots.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
