ANN ARBOR, Michigan, April 24. THE No. 7-ranked University of Michigan water polo team claimed its ninth straight division crown with a 5-3 victory over No. 15-ranked Indiana in the finals of the CWPA Western Division Championship on Saturday (April 24) inside Canham Natatorium.<\/p>\n
Freshman Alex Adamson (Coronado, Calif.\/Coronado) made seven saves while holding IU to three scores in the cage. Freshman Kiki Golden (Danville, Calif.\/Monte Vista) led the defensive charge with four steals and tallied the game-winning goal.<\/p>\n
After battling back and forth defensively for the first seven-plus minutes, Michigan broke through on the power play when junior Alison Mantel (Miami, Fla.\/Gulliver) threaded a pass across the cage to a wide-open Golden for the goal with 37 seconds remaining in the opening period. Adamson kept IU from creating a momentum shift right off the opening sprint of the second period, stoning Nicole Redder on a breakaway. Midway through the second frame, junior Sarah Roberts (Costa Mesa, Calif.\/Newport Harbor) charged a ball that was sitting on the goal line for U-M's second goal. Mantel followed with a goal inside the final two minutes to put the Maize and Blue ahead with a commanding 3-0 lead. Indiana scored one late to create a 3-1 halftime score.<\/p>\n
Indiana narrowed the lead to 3-2 before U-M exploded for two goals 31 seconds apart. Junior Keller Felt (La Jolla, Calif.\/La Jolla) created the first goal, stripping the ball and sending a pass to senior Leah Robertson (Newport Beach, Calif.\/Newport Harbor) in close where she fired one off the bar and in. Mantel dented twine late in the period, juking to draw the IU goalie out of position and then scoring top shelf. Indiana pushed in the final frame but could only one muster one goal in the late going.<\/p>\n
The Wolverines will look to defend back-to-back conference titles at the CWPA Eastern Championship next weekend (April 30-May 2) in College Park, Md.<\/p>\n
GAME SUMMARY
\nChampionship \t1 \t2 \t3 \t4 \tF
\nNo. 2 Indiana \t0 \t1 \t1 \t1 \t3
\nNo. 1 Michigan \t1 \t2 \t2 \t0 \t5<\/p>\n
U-M Goals: Alison Mantel 2, Kiki Golden, Leah Robertson, Sarah Roberts.
\nIU Goals: Kelsey Campbell, Kara Butler, Kelly Palmberg.
\nSaves: U-M 9 (Alex Adamson), IU 12 (Cassie Wyckoff)
\nEjections: U-M 8, IU 9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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