LEWISBURG, Pa. — The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan water polo team defeated host Bucknell University, 12-1, and Saint Francis University, 22-6, in Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) competition to open play at the 2023 Bucknell Invitational inside Kinney Natatorium.
Riley Chapple was the star of the show for the Wolverines, scoring five goals and collecting 10 assists to finish with 15 points over the two games. Issy Jackson, Chapple and Madie Ambrose all recorded the first starts of their Michigan careers.
Facing the host Bison, Kata Utassy got the Wolverines rolling with a low corner skip shot within the first 19 seconds of the game. Ava Morrant got in on the fun two minutes later, finding the back of the net to give U-M a 2-0 early lead. Fourteen seconds later, Brooke Ingram took advantage of a penalty shot to give Michigan a 3-0 advantage. Bucknell converted a six-on-five opportunity, scoring what turned out to be its only goal of the contest with 1:!4 remaining in the first quarter. With three seconds left on the clock, Sammi Monroe added to the lead, beating the Bison’s goaltender on the counterattack with an assist from Alex Brown and pulling Michigan to a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Allison Lock was the lone scorer for either team in the second quarter, scoring on a six-on-five power play to give the Wolverines a 5-1 lead heading into the half.
Michigan got back on track offensively in the third quarter with five goals, all scored by different Wolverines. Chapple got things started with a half-court cross-cage shot within the first minute of the quarter. Thirty seconds later, Jackson was the lead Wolverine on the counterattack and scoring to put Michigan up 7-1. Fiona Young, Sophie Tovani and Ingram followed with goals of their own to build the margin to 10-1.
Monroe scored her second goal on a counterattack and Chapple scored her second goal with a half-court shot to end the game and provide the defending CWPA Champion Wolverines with their first conference win of the 2023 season.
Michigan dominated from start to finish against Saint Francis.
In the first quarter alone, the Maize and Blue found the back of the five times to Saint Francis’ three tallies. Five different Wolverines scored in the first, including Young, Ashley O’Neill, Chapple, Erin Neustrom and Lock.
Ingram kicked off the second quarter with a penalty shot before Morrant scored three goals to cap off the second to earn a hat trick. Heading into the half, the Wolverines led the Red Flash 9-5.
In the second half, the Maize and Blue put up 13 goals, while holding Saint Francis to only one. Ambrose recorded her first start as a Wolverine between the pipes with nine saves and one steal. Chapple, Jackson, Monroe, and Tovani each chipped in one goal, while Young capitalized on two counterattacks, netting two goals in the third for a hat trick.
In the fourth quarter, Ingram, Tovani, Lock, and Chapple each collected one goal, while Jackson netted three goals for her first Michigan hat trick.
Release courtesy University of Michigan Athletics Communications
