BY NICK SPAR
For the Daily
Published February 8, 2009
After starting the weekend on a high note against some of the best competition in the nation, the Michigan water polo team left San Diego yesterday with a feeling that senior captain Mary Chatigny described as "bittersweet".
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The Wolverines lost to No. 5 San Diego State 9-6 in a semifinal match of the Triton Invitational before falling 8-6 to No. 11 Loyola Marymount just hours later in the consolation game.
No. 8 Michigan finished fourth in the 16-team tournament, the highest finish of any team east of the Mississippi River.
Yet it was a disappointing Sunday for the Wolverines, who dropped to 4-4 on the season after the two losses.
“We came out against a team that was ranked ahead of us and we went toe-to-toe with them and came up short by three goals,” Chatigny said. "I think a lot of us are kind of ticked off, but we’re ready to get back into training and try to put up a win against them next time.”
Michigan coach Matt Anderson said the loss to San Diego State was due to a slow start and the team's inability to convert any of its 10 6-on-5 opportunities.
“We just had a bad shooting day," Anderson said. "But without a doubt, we had our opportunities to be successful. But we just, unfortunately, had a good amount of very good looks that didn’t fall.”
Before losing to San Diego State, the Wolverines earned two thrilling overtime victories Saturday. They beat No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield 12-10 and No. 12 Cal State Northridge 6-5.
Sophomore Alison Mantel led Michigan with 11 goals in the four matches, including the game-winning goal in overtime against Cal State Northridge.
Michigan trailed entering the third period in both games on Saturday. Anderson attributes the team’s perseverance in the first two matches of the tournament to its superior conditioning.
“We actually didn’t make many mistakes in the fourth period or overtime," Anderson said. "So I think we kind of got our second wind, and that’s just proof that our conditioning is right where it needs to be.”
Next weekend, the Wolverines head to the opposite coast for the two-day Harvard Invitational in Cambridge, Mass.
