IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan water polo team defeated Division III No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 14-8, and fell to No. 17 the University of California-Davis, 12-10, on day two of the 2023 Barbara Kalbus Invitational hosted by the University of California-Irvine at the Anteater Aquatic Complex.
Lola Ciruli led the Wolverines over the course of two games with 11 points, including five goals and six assists. Alex Brown led Michigan between the pipes with 26 saves on the day.
Elise Walker got the Maize and Blue started against Pomona-Pitzer in the first quarter with a goal from three meters out that was assisted by Sammi Monroe. Halfway through the quarter, Ciruli fired a shot to the back of the cage which gave Michigan a 2-0 lead. The Sagehens found the net 40 seconds later, pulling within one, but Sophie Tovani scored and gave U-M its two-goal lead back off a pass from Issy Jackson. Pomona answered, sneaking one past the Michigan defense to make it 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Kata Utassy took advantage of the Michigan power play and put Michigan up 4-2 quickly to start the second quarter. Libby Alsemgeest dented the twine a couple minutes later, giving U-M a three-point lead with five minutes left in the second. With two minutes left in the quarter, Erin Neustrom and Alison Lock each chipped in a goal for a 7-2 Michigan lead heading into the second half.
The Sagehens struck first in the third quarter, scoring back-to-back goals before Tovani beat the goalie and found the back of the net for an 8-4 Wolverine lead. Lock then took advantage of a six-on-five power play and scored Michigan’s ninth goal of the game. Over the last quarter and a half, Michigan scored seven goals to Pomona-Pitzer’s six, forcing a 14-8 victory.
Tovani led the Wolverines with four goals and five assists in the win against Pomona, totaling nine points. Brown recorded 11 saves between the pipes and collected one assist. Neustrom, Lock and Alsemgeest each chipped in two goals apiece while Utassy, Monroe, Circuli and Walker all scored one.
In the late game against UC-Davis, the Aggies got on the board first with a goal in the first 15 seconds of the game but Utassy countered back with a goal of her own to tie it up. Just 15 seconds later, however, UC-Davis found the back of the net for the second time, but Utassy evened things again as she took advantage of the power play and scored her second goal of the frame. The Aggies scored two more goals before Ciruli dented the twine and put Michigan back within one goal, but UC-Davis scored again before the quarter ended and took a 5-3 lead.
The Aggies went on to score back-to-back goals to start the second quarter and claim a four score lead. Morrant deflcted a shot of the post for a strike before UC-Davis returned its advantage to four tallies. U-M received two more goals — both from Monroe — heading into halftime to enter the break trailing 10-6.
Utassy started off the third quarter with a hat-trick goal, and U-M scored three more goals — two from Morrant and one from Alsemgeest — to tie it all up at 10-all.
Despite the surge, UC-Davis scored twice in the fourth quarter and was able to hold off the Wolverines’ offense the rest of the game.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
