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No. 6 Michigan Falls to No. 1 UCLA 9-6 to Take Sixth at NCAA Championship
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 5-seed and No. 6-ranked University of Michigan water polo team could not overcome an early deficit to top-ranked and No. 3 seed UCLA, falling, 9-6, in the fifth-place game of the 2010 NCAA Championship at the Aztec Aquaplex. The Wolverines earned a sixth-place finish to conclude their third straight national tournament appearance.
Freshman Alex Adamson (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) made two stops, while sophomore Morgan Turner (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills) posted three, including a five-meter penalty shot, and had a game-high four steals in the cage for the Wolverines.
Six different Wolverines dented the twine, with junior Lauren Orth (Poway, Calif./Poway) leading the way with a goal and two assists. Senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) capped her career with a team-high three drawn ejections to go with a goal.
Michigan got the first attack of the game, throwing two quick shots on goal to no avail. UCLA rattled off two markers within a minute to take a 2-0 lead early in the frame. U-M responded with a five-meter toss from Orth, but UCLA's power play quickly made it a 4-1 game. Freshman Lauren Colton (Tustin, Calif./Tesoro) took a toss from Orth at two meters, turned and fired a shot under the crossbar, but UCLA once again scored two in response to carry a 6-2 first-period lead.
Michigan settled in defensively, allowing one goal in each of the remaining periods. Turner helped her cause in the cage, committing thefts on successive UCLA pass attempts to two meters late in the second frame.
Junior Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla./Gulliver) pulled U-M back to within 7-3 midway through the third period, scoring at 5:17 on the power play. The Wolverine junior got open on the perimeter and launched a cross-cage shot into the corner of the goal. Two minutes after UCLA put another goal on the board, freshman Kiki Golden (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) put the Bruins in her sights and fired a howitzer from in close for a 6-on-5 score to bring the Maize and Blue to within four goals heading into the final stanza.
Turner answered the bell early in the last period, reaching to her right to stop a five-meter penalty. Michigan continued to apply pressure on the Bruins and broke through with 2:13 remaining when the U-M penalty kill created a steal and sent Reitz on a counter attack. The speedy junior beat the UCLA goalie to the ball and flicked a shot into the yawning cage. With under 10 seconds remaining, sophomore Claire Ivry (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) stripped the ball at mid-pool and sent Robertson on the final breakaway of her career, where the senior carried the ball on goal and went top shelf with a shot.
Michigan (33-8) concludes the 2010 season with a program-record .805 winning percentage and a record-low eight losses. U-M claimed its ninth consecutive CWPA Western Division title, fifth CWPA Eastern Championship crown and made its third straight appearance at the NCAA Championship.
2010 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
First Team
Camille Hewko, California
Jessica Steffens, Stanford
Tumua Anae, Southern California
Kami Craig, Southern California
Anne Scott, Loyola Marymount
Melissa Seidemann, Stanford
Kristen Dronberger, Southern California
Forel Davies, Southern California
Second Team
KK Clark, UCLA
Kristine Cato, Loyola Marymount
Annika Dries, Stanford
Leah Robertson, Michigan
Kim Krueger, Stanford
Kelly Eaton, Stanford
Dana Ochsner, California
Samantha Swartz, Marist
Tamara Perea, Pomona-Pitzer
Tournament MVP: Kami Craig, Southern California
Release courtesy Michigan Athletic Communications
