Teaser: After a 3-2 start to the season, Michigan will play its first home games of the year on Saturday and Sunday when they welcome five teams to Ann Arbor for the Michigan Invitational.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 30 — vs. No. 15 San Diego State (0-0), 11:30 a.m. ET
Saturday, Jan. 30 — vs. No. 24 Marist (0-0) 7:40 p.m. ET
Sunday, Jan. 31 — vs. No. 11 UCSB (3-2), 9:40 a.m. ET
Sunday, Jan. 31 — vs. No. 12 Pacific (1-3), 5 p.m. ET
- Game Day Information: Canham Natatorium | Tournament Page
With its highest ranking since 2011, the No. 17 Michigan water polo team will host the Michigan Invitational this weekend at Canham Natatorium, welcoming five teams to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines will host No. 11 UCSB (3-2), No. 12 Pacific (1-3), No. 15 San Diego State (0-0), No. 17 Hartwick (0-0) and No. 24 Marist (0-0) over the course of Saturday and Sunday.
THINGS TO KNOW
- Michigan has its highest ranking since 2011, moving up to No. 7 in the polls this week
- The Wolverines went 3-2 at the UCSB Invitational to start the season, breaking a 21-game losing streak to top 10 teams against No. 8 San Jose State in an 18-9 win.
- U-M only played one home game last season, defeating rival Indiana 9-8 in overtime
- Senior Ali Thomason has scored 15 goals in the last three games and leads the team with 19 on the year
- Freshman Kim Johnson had three goals in three of the first five games to tie for second on the team with 12 goals overall
Series History
Two of the four teams Michigan will play this weekend (San Diego State and Marist) have not played a game in 2016. UCSB is 3-2 with losses to No. 2 UCLA (8-5) and No. 4 Cal (9-8 OT). Pacific is 1-3 with all three losses coming to top 10 teams two weeks ago. The Wolverines have faced San Diego State 20 times, winning seven of those outings. U-M has gotten the better of the Aztecs the last two years, winning 7-5 a year ago. Against Marist, the Wolverines are undefeated at 10-0 and last played two years ago. UCSB leads 7-4 in the series, although the four Michigan wins have come the last four times they’ve played. The two schools met twice last year with U-M taking both contests. This will be only the third time Michigan and Pacific have played each other. They’ve split the first two meetings with U-M winning in 2014 and Pacific last year. Both have been 7-6 games.
Rankings
Michigan climbed to No. 7 in the rankings this week, the program’s highest ranking since 2011. It is the first time in three seasons that the Wolverines have been a top 10 team. All six teams competing at the Michigan Invitational this weekend are ranked with No. 11 UCSB, No. 12 Pacific, No. 15 San Diego State, No. 17 Hartwick and No. 24 Marist all coming to Ann Arbor.
Weekly Awards
Michigan swept the first CWPA Weekly Awards. Senior Ali Thomason was named Player of the Week after scoring 19 goals in five games, including 15 in the last three. She also won 17 of her 19 sprints. Senior goalkeeper Julia Campbell was named Defensive Player of the Week after recorded 35 saves and posting a 3-2 record. Both losses came to teams in the top seven nationally. Freshman Kim Johnson was named Rookie of the Week after finishing second on the team with 12 goals and 16 points. She also drew seven exclusions and had three steals in her first weekend of collegiate water polo.
Ann Arbor Native
Michigan has one player on its team from the state of Michigan. Ann Arbor native Kimberly Graziano will play in front of her friends and family after attending Skyline High School. Graziano has played in all five games this year and 39 career games.
Milestone Watch
Senior Ali Thomason, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, is 16 goals away from 150 in her career. She became the ninth player at U-M with 150 career steals last weekend and now is four away from passing Terri Bukofzer for eighth all-time. She also went over 200 career points last week. Junior Allison Skaggs needs one more point for 100 in her career. Kelly Martin is two assists shy of 50 career assists. Senior Emily Sejna is four games played away from 100 in her career.
Swimming news courtesy of Michigan Water Polo.
I continue to hate water polo. Takes away good swimmers and primo swim training time with theses boring tournaments
On face value a #17 polo ranking for Michigan looks pretty good… until one realizes there are only about 26 Div I NCAA water polo teams, most of them from CA. 17th out of 26 doesn’t have quite the same ring.