Monday, May 17, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily~com Blue finishes in sixth place at NCAAs By JAMES BLUM Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women's water polo team had high hopes of sending off senior captain Leah Robertson and fifth-year senior goalkeeper Brittany May with a deep tournament run. But the players saw those hopes dashed halfway through their quar- terfinal against No. 4 seed California (26-9) on Friday. After staying with the high-pow- ered Golden Bear offense in the first period, the Wolverines (33-8) fell apart in the second stanza, as they were outscored 4-0. The usually smothering Michi- gan defense showed its youthfulness, allowing California to open up a 7-2 lead at the half. Freshman goalie Alex Adamson, who won the job from an injury-plagued May, didn't look like her regular-season self. Adamson's struggles on the big stage forced coach Matt Anderson to platoon the net with all three goalies. Adamson, freshman Morgan Turner and a fatigued May all saw significant 1 playing time throughout the tourna- ment. Adamson and May combined for 14 saves in an 11-3 victory over No. 8 seed Pomona-Pitzer (18-16), while junior Lauren Orth continued her hot play SWEET 16 From Page 10 NCAA Championships at the Univer- sity of Georgia. The Wolverines will meet No. 13 Tennessee on Thursday, May 20, at 3 p.m. "It's been our goal to make it to THREE-PEAT From Page 10 The second quarter was vital for the Wolverines in turning the game around. ASU had its goalie, Dylan *Westfall, to thank for keeping the team in the game - Westfall made eight saves in a period which saw Michigan outshoot the Sun Devils 19 to three. After dominating the Sun Devils in the second, the Wolverines took a 6-5 lead into the half. "Our attack this year was the deep- est I think we have ever been," Yealy said. "We had at least five guys who all contributed a lot of points. And we just kind of meshed well. You could put any combination of us on the field offensively, putting up a hat trick. She tallied four against California and fin- ished with eight over the three-game tournament. The blowout win placed the Wolverines in the familiar fifth- place game against top-ranked UCLA (22-8). Once again, the Michigan defense struggled early against the Bruins on Sunday afternoon, allowing six first-period goals. This lack of con- centration dug the Wolverines an insurmountable hole, and despite outscoring UCLA over the final three stanzas, Michigan lost 9-6 to end its impressive season with a disappoint- ing sixth-place finish. "We wanted more," Anderson said. "But we had two bad quarters - a bad quarter against Cal and a bad quarter against UCLA. "And when you're playing the No. 1 team in the nation and the No. 4 team in the nation, you can't afford to have a bad quarter. We're happy with our season, but not happy with how we played this weekend. But to finish sixth is a lot better than to not make it this far." Left with the bitter aftertaste of disappointment, the Wolverines were forced to say goodbye to four seniors - May, Robertson, Terri Bukofzer and Casie Kelly. "It's very emotional," Anderson Georgia," Bernstein said. "We're going to play loose, and a team is going to have to beat us, because we're going to go in there and com- pete. We've played a lot of the best teams in the country already, so nothing is gong to surprise us. We're going to enjoy it. It's exciting for the program and we're going to have fun." AARON AUGSBURGER/Daily Senior Leah Robertson played in her final game as a Wolverine this past weekend against UCLA in Michigan's 9-6 loss. said about the locker room atmo- them." "We have a chance to be very good sphere. "This has been the best - in With several team leaders gradu- next year, but only if we have 100 per- terms of performance in the water - ating, Michigan has difficulties on centfocus when we are playingthe top the best team the class has ever had, the horizon. However, Anderson is teams in the nation," Anderson said. and out of the water, they've been at confident in his young squad's abil- "Ten out of 12 periods were good this that level as well. ity and hopes to improve upon the weekend, but the two that were bad "It's been very emotional for (the team's familiar fifth- and sixth-place cost us two games. We have to learn to seniors) and we're going to miss finishes. play 12 out of12." --J J Lj- 50% Off together at one time and you're going to get results." With the lead down to one with eight seconds to play, senior mid- fielder David Reinhard won his sev- enteenth and most important draw of the game. The Sun Devils attempted a last-second Hail Mary shot, but it went wide of the goal. The clock struck zero, and the Wol- verines cemented their place in his- tory as the only team to ever win three straight MCLA titles. "I think 'tenacious' is a great word for this team," Paul said. "They had to deal with a lot of adversity and they had to fight to win. Things didn't come6 - as easy as they had the last two years.6 ' E They just didn't quit. They were tena- v m.S a IA rrn yT h rift. Co r cious in every game and that carried us through the tournament." This promotion is available at all SEMI ARC Family Thrift Store Locations.