BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Goalie Heidi Ritner (Gr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) made 40 saves over the span of four road games to earn status as the April 12 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division I Defensive Player of the Week.
On the road at No. 13-ranked University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., she posted 15 saves in a complete game 5-4 defeat of the Tigers on Monday, April 5. She followed up the performance with seven saves in 24 minutes of work during a 9-3 victory over Pacific on Tuesday, April 6.
She closed out the week by netting a pair of wins to lock-up the No. 1 seed at the CWPA Championship on Saturday, April 24, at home in Canham Natatorium for the No. 7 Wolverines as she stood as the goalie of record in defeats of No. 21 Bucknell University (15-6 W) and Saint Francis University (20-3 W) on Sunday, April 11.
Competing at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa., Ritner turned aside 12 shots with a steal as the Wolverines bounced the host Bison. In the late game, she notched six saves as Michigan handled Saint Francis.
The award marks the 16th Defensive Player of the Week and 21st overall weekly honor from the league office during her time with the Maize & Blue. The January 23, February 13, February 27, April 10 and May 15 Rookie of the Week during the 2017 season, she picked up Defensive Player of the Week nods in 2017 (January 23, February 27, April 10, May 15), 2018 (January 22, March 12, May 14), 2019 (February 25, March 18, April 15) and the COVID-19 abbreviated 2020 (January 20, January 27, February 24) campaigns. Ritner was previously named the February 22 and March 1 Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season.
April 12 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Defensive Player of the Week Honor Roll: Rosalinda Rivera (Saint Francis University)
