ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Erin Neustrom (Jr., Moraga, Calif./Campolindo) posted three goals and a pair of assists to accompany a trio of tallies by Lola Ciruli (Fr., Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo) as the host/No. 7-ranked Wolverines of the University of Michigan defended their home tank with a 12-5 victory over No. 20 Bucknell University in the 2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I Championship title game at Canham Natatorium.
The second National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) conference to determine its automatic qualifier for the National Championship tournament – as Fresno State University defeated San Diego State University by a 14-10 score to claim the Golden Coast Conference crown an hour prior to the opening sprint of Michigan-Bucknell – the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) will once again by represented by Michigan at the NCAA event.
The Wolverines – which claims the program’s fifth consecutive CWPA crown – advances to the 2021 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship slated for Wednesday, May 12, and Friday-Sunday, May 14-16, at the University of California-Los Angeles’ Spieker Aquatics Center.
A 10-time champion (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) and four-time (2004, 2006, 2011, 2013) runner-up, the Maize & Blue jumped on the scoreboard first as Neustrom buried a pass from Anne Rankin (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter to acquire a 1-0 lead. Ava Morrant (Jr., Maple Ridge, British Columbia/Maple Ridge Secondary School) added to the lead by converting off another pass from Rankin at 4:50 prior to Kata Utassy (Fr., Budapest, Hungary/Konyves Kalman Secondary School) finding Ciruli for a score at 3:10 to build the margin to 3-0.
Libby Alsemgeest (Fr., Hamilton, New Zealand/St. Cuthbert’s College) continued the Wolverines’ offensive onslaught by putting away a pass from Emily Ritner (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) with 33 seconds left in the first quarter for a 4-0 spread.
However, the Bison delivered an answer prior to the closing horn of the frame as Paige Furano (Jr., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School (N.Y.)) cashed in on a man-up chance and an assist by Megan LaCroix (So., Saratoga, Calif./Saint Francis) with six ticks on the clock to inch Bucknell back to within three at 4-1.
The three-goal margin did not remain static for long in the second quarter as Neustrom found Rankin for a score at 6:52 to return the lead to four at 5-1.
Bucknell had a chance to pull back within three, but a five-meter penalty shot by Ally Furano (Sr., Stamford, Conn./The Ursuline School (N.Y.)) off a call against Rankin 22 seconds after her goal failed to keep the Bison four down.
The gap continued to widen between the teams as Emily Ritner put away a pass from Neustrom at 4:45 to make it a five-goal game at 6-1.
Marcela Herrera (Sr., Windermere, Fla./Olympia) responded for the Bison at 4:16 to trim the Wolverines’ lead back to four at 6-2.
Ciruli (3:30) and Paige Furano (3:19) – off an assist from Herrera – exchanged goals to expand and shrink the lead to 7-3 prior to Sophie Tovani (So., Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley) (2:50) and Ciruli (four seconds, assist to Emily Ritner) closing out the first with back-to-back even-strength tallies to set the scoreboard at 9-3 entering the break.
Goalie Heidi Ritner (Gr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar), who made three saves with three goals allowed, exited the contest and gave way to Alex Brown (So., Clayton, Calif./Carondelet) who anchored the Wolverines in the third quarter.
Furano chipped Michigan’s lead down to 9-4 with 6:15 left in the third quarter off an assist by Herrera, but Neustrom terminated any concept of a Bison comeback rally by converting a helper by 2021 CWPA Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP) Maddie O’Reilly (Sr., Villanova, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) at 5:02 to rebuild the spread to six at 10-4.
Following another Maize & Blue goalie change with Sophie Jackson (Jr., West Yorkshire, England/The Crossley Heath Grammar School) replacing Brown for the final eight minutes of regulation, the Wolverines continued to pull away as O’Reilly cashed in on a man-up chance via a pass from Utassy 23 seconds into the four quarter to expand the lead to 11-4.
Neustrom followed with a natural goal at 6:57 (12-4) prior to Bucknell’s Kali Hyham (Sr. Garden Grove, Calif./Huntington Beach) wrapping up the scoring at 3:05 off an assist from Furano for the 12-5 final score.
For Michigan, Rankin (one goal, two assists), Emily Ritner (one goal, two assists), Alsemgeest (one goal), Morrant (one goal), Tovani (one goal) and O’Reilly (one goal, one assist) joined Neustrom and Ciruli in finding the back of the cage for the Maize & Blue. Utassy also chipped in on offense by distributing a pair of assists.
In cage, Heidi Ritner earned the win as Michigan improved to 48-12 all-time at the championship, including a 42-11 mark since 2001.
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 University), third (2003), second (2004, 5-2 L vs. Hartwick at Bucknell), first (2005, 8-7 W at Indiana University), second (2006, 11-8 L vs. Hartwick at Brown University), fourth (2007), first (2008, 10-7 W vs. Hartwick at home), 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 home), third (2014), fourth (2015), first (2016, 9-2 W vs. Indiana at Harvard), first (2017, 5-4 W vs. Princeton at Indiana), first (2018, 11-8 W vs. Princeton at Bucknell), first (2019, 10-6 W vs. Princeton at Brown) and first (2021) since 2001.
Following the title game, Michigan head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi was announced as the 2021 CWPA Championship Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament. The nod marks his third Hunkler award after previously earning the 2016 and 2017 honors for leading Michigan to the first of the program’s back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles.
For Bucknell, which was making the program’s third CWPA Championship title game appearance (1991, 1994, 2021) and first in 27 years, Furano led the way with three goals and an assist. Herrera (one goal, two assists) and Hyham (one goal) account for the remainder of the Bison’s offense in support of a three save effort by netminder Sam Gove (So., Rockport, Mass./Philips Exeter Academy (N.H.)).
Bucknell’s appearance in the title game demonstrates breaks up a 20-year logjam at the top of the league as the quintet of the Michigan Wolverines, Indiana Hoosiers, Hartwick Hawks, Princeton Tigers and Brown Bears had combined for every women’s title game appearance since the University of Massachusetts fell to Princeton in 2000.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 20 Bucknell University |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 5 |
| No. 7 University of Michigan | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | – | 12 |
| Michigan Goals: | Erin Neustrom (3); Lola Ciruli (3); Emily Ritner; Libby Alsemgeest; Ava Morrant; Sophie Tovani; Maddie O’Reilly; Anne Rankin | |||||
| Bucknell Goals: | Paige Furano (3); Marcela Herrera; Kali Hyham | |||||
| Saves: | Michigan – Heidi Ritner (3, 16 minutes), Alex Brown (5, 8 minutes), Sophie Jackson (0, 8 minutes) ; Bucknell – Sam Gove (3) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Michigan – 11 ; Bucknell – 3 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Michigan – 1-for-3 ; Bucknell – 1-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | Michigan – 4-for-4 ; Bucknell – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Alex Stankevitch, Igor Mernenko | |||||
Following the championship game, the 2021 CWPA Championship All-Tournament Team was released:
| 2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Championship | |
| All-Tournament Team | |
| Most Valuable Player: | Madison O’Reilly (University of Michigan) |
| Rookie of the Tournament: | Libby Alsemgeest (University of Michigan) |
| Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament: | Dr. Marcelo Leonardi (University of Michigan) |
| First Team | |
| Heidi Ritner (Goalie) | University of Michigan |
| Madison O’Reilly | University of Michigan |
| Sofie Pontre | University of Michigan |
| Ally Furano | Bucknell University |
| Paige Furano | Bucknell University |
| Kali Hyham | Bucknell University |
| Emese Szucs | Saint Francis University |
| Second Team | |
| Rosalinda Rivera (Goalie) | Saint Francis University |
| Erin Neustrom | University of Michigan |
| Taylor Halbauer | Saint Francis University |
| Ana Luisa Cotta | Mount St. Mary’s University |
| Ava Morant | University of Michigan |
| Addison Williams | Saint Francis University |
| Emily Ritner | University of Michigan |
| Marcela Herrera | Bucknell University |
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament Dr. Marcelo Leonardi dives in to celebrate the University of Michigan’s fifth consecutive & 10th overall CWPA Championship
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship Runner-Up – Bucknell University
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Champion – the University of Michigan
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Champion – the University of Michigan
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship Rookie of the Tournament –
LIbby Alsemgeest (University of Michigan)
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship Most Valuable Player –
Maddie O’Reilly (University of Michigan)
2021 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship Doc Hunkler Coach of the Tournament –
Dr. Marcelo Leonardi (University of Michigan)
