Hoosiers Fall In Western Division Championship

Sunday, April 22

Ann Arbor, Mich.

All Day

Indiana University

Western Division Championships

Junior Brooke Zimmerman scored three times as the Hoosiers fell in the Western Division title game.

4/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo

April 22, 2007

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Indiana water polo team fell to No. 19 Michigan, 8-6, in overtime of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Western Division Championship on Saturday, April 22. It was the third consecutive year in which the two teams had squared off for the title, with Michigan taking all three games.

The Hoosiers got on the board first, as senior Emily Schmitt found the back of the cage just 1:27 into the game to give IU the early advantage. Michigan's Leah Robertson scored just 33 seconds later to tie up the game. Senior Melissa Soria and junior Brooke Zimmerman each scored once in the first quarter to give IU a 3-1 advantage, but the Wolverines came back to score twice in the closing two minutes to bring the score to 3-3 to close out the frame.

The two teams each scored once in the second frame and neither team could find the goal in the third quarter to have the score tied at 4-4 entering the final quarter. Indiana drew first blood in the fourth, as senior Kristin Zernicke scored in the first minute of play to put the Hoosiers back on top. With just over four minutes left to play, freshman Nicole Sands scored to put IU up by two, but Michigan found the back of the cage twice more before the end of the game to send the title match into overtime.

Neither team was able to score in the first overtime period, but Michigan's Julie Hyrne scored a goal in the first minute of the second overtime to put the Wolverine's on top. Hyrne scored again with 1:52 remaining in the period to close out the win for Michigan.

Zimmerman led the Hoosiers with three goals, while Zernicke, Sands and Soria each added one.

The Hoosiers will be in action next on April 28 and 29 at the CWPA Eastern Championships at the Tigers' DeNunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. The Hoosiers will find out their seed early this upcoming week. The winner of the Eastern Championships earns the CWPA bid to the NCAA Championships, held at Long Beach State from May 11-13.