May 16, 2010
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Photo Gallery 
| Coach Anderson Video Interview 
Site: San Diego, Calif. (Aztec Aquaplex)
Event: NCAA Championship (Fifth-Place Game)
Score: #1 UCLA 9, #6 Michigan 6
Records: U-M (33-8), UCLA (22-8)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
San Diego, Calif. -- The No. 5-seed University of Michigan water polo team could not overcome an early deficit to top-ranked and No. 3 seed UCLA, falling, 9-6, on Sunday (May 16) 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 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.
GAME SUMMARY
| By Period |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
| Michigan |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| UCLA |
6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
U-M Goals: Lauren Orth,
Lauren Colton,
Alison Mantel,
Kiki Golden,
Cara Reitz,
Leah Robertson.
UCLA Goals: Priscilla Orozco 4, Grace Reynolds 3, KK Clark 2.
Saves: U-M 5 (
Alex Adamson 2;
Morgan Turner 3;
Brittany May 0), UCLA 9 (Caitlin Dement)
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
N O T E S
• The Maize and Blue fell to 5-9 at the NCAA Championship.
• The Wolverines finished the season 33-8, establishing a new program record for winning percentage (.805) and losses (8). Michigan's previous best winning percentage came a season ago at .796 and had nine losses in 2004 and 2009.
• Seniors Terri Bukofzer, Casie Kelly, Brittany May, Leah Robertson and volunteer coach Theo Ludwick made their final appearance for the Maize and Blue. The four-member senior class is the winningest group in program history, owning a 126-44 overall record.
• Bukofzer ends her collegiate career ranked fourth with 157 games played for the Maize and Blue.
• May wraps up her storied career ranked second with 480 career saves and 51 wins. She went 51-20 in three seasons for the Wolverines.
• Robertson ends her career with a program-record 364 steals -- 162 more than second place. She also finishes ranked second on the U-M career list with 184 drawn ejections and 121 assists, third with 280 points and fourth with 159 goals.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
Opening Statement ... "Not a lot to say other than we had 10 good periods here at the NCAAs. Unfortunately, at a tournament like this, you cannot wait to start playing in the second period or take the period off. It is what it is. Considering at the beginning of the year we were not the choice to win the Easterns and for us to make our third appearance in a row (at NCAAs) and also to beat very strong teams from the West Coast, it is a season that I have no complaints with. If I base my season on if we won or lost our last game, I am not doing the right job as a coach. The fact that I got to come here with a group of ladies, regardless had we finished first or eighth, I still walk away happy that I had this team this year."
On the first period ... "We had three things we were supposed to accomplish in the first period and the first play of the game Cara Reitz has an incredible opportunity to score (on) our first shot. We did that perfectly and then did not do it again. We had a great last three periods and a few more well placed shots and I think that is a game we can get back."
On UCLA getting off to a strong start ... "You always want to start the game with a block. Every coach will tell you that if the opposing team scores on the first possession you have to worry about how the team is going to respond with deer-in-headlights look or shake it off. Unfortunately, we didn't shake it off today. That is why UCLA came in here as the No. 1 team in the nation."
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
