Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Host Michigan For CWPA Top Seed
4/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Water Polo
April 6, 2007
Michigan Notes
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The Indiana women's water polo team will play its lone home event of the season on Saturday, April 7, when it hosts CWPA foe No. 17 Michigan in the Councilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. The Hoosiers enter the match with a record of 14-12 overall and are 6-0 in the conference. The winner of the contest will earn the top seed at the Western Division Championship, which will be held in the Canham Natatorium at Michigan on April 21-22.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT
Michigan -- The Wolverines enter the match with a record of 20-13 and hold a mark of 20-4-1 overall against the Hoosiers. Senior Shana Welch ranks second on the team in assists (37), and has a 2007 point total of 109 and goal total of 72, both of which are tops on the squad. Her 109 points are also the most in any season by a Wolverine in school history, besting her own previous school-record mark of 102 from last season. Sophomore Mary Chatigny continues to work her way up the record books with her team-leading 39 assists. She currently ranks third for the most assists in a season by a Michigan player. Michigan has netted 363 goals this season, putting the team within striking distance of the program record of 399 for a season, set in 2006.
LAST TIME OUT
The Indiana water polo team closed out its weekend road trip with a 16-9 victory over Slippery Rock and a 19-7 win at Washington and Jefferson on Sunday, March 25.
The Hoosiers opened play on Sunday with a goal from Brooke Zimmerman with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter. The Hoosiers opened a 3-1 lead on goals from Kristin Zernicke and Brittany Estrada, but Slippery Rock came back to cut the IU advantage to one before Emily Schmitt scored IU's fourth goal of the frame with just under two and a half minutes left. Slippery Rock scored again to close out the frame down one, 4-3.
The Hoosiers scored four goals in the second quarter, including two from Claire Nicholson, to take an 8-4 lead into halftime. The third frame saw IU outscore Slippery Rock, 5-3, including two goals from Zimmerman. Indiana closed out the game with three goals in the final quarter, as Rachel Edwards closed out the scoring by finding the back of the cage with just one second remaining in play.
Zimmerman, Edwards and Kelly Palmberg led the IU offense with three goals each in the contest. Nicholson had two, while Kara Woolley, Zernicke, Nicole Sands, Estrada and Schmitt had one score apiece. Jackie Pyrz had three saves in the cage for IU. Erika Brunner led Slippery Rock with five goals.
Against Washington & Jefferson, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first quarter and did not look back. IU held the 8-3 advantage at the break and led 15-4 after the third period.
Palmberg, Edwards and Sands each tallied three goals in the victory for IU, while Estrada and Zimmerman scored twice. Woolley, Nicholson, Zernicke, Melissa Soria, Schmitt and Jaclyn Tameris each tallied one score in the contest.
In the cage, Sarah Larson had nine saves for the Hoosiers. Alicia Sutton led Washington & Jefferson with four goals and was joined by Polly Ziegler with three.
RACKING UP THE HONORS
Indiana junior Brooke Zimmerman was named the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Western Division Player of the Week, the conference office announced on March 29. It is the second such honor of her career.
The Calgary, Alberta, native led the Hoosiers to a 6-0 week from March 23-25, as IU knocked off six Western Division opponents to move to 6-0 in the division on the year. In those six games, Zimmerman tallied 13 goals, which raised her single-season scoring total to 60, 13 shy of the all-time Hoosier record of 73, set by Kristin Stanford in 2003. Zimmerman opened the weekend with one goal against Gannon in a 9-7 victory and then rattled off hat tricks in wins over Mercyhurst (14-2), Penn State-Behrend (17-1) and Slippery Rock (16-9) before tallying a goal at Grove City (14-4) and a pair of scores at Washington & Jefferson (19-7). She now has 116 goals for her career, good for seventh on the all-time list at IU.
RECORD SETTING
With nine assists on the CWPA roadtrip, senior Kristin Zernicke vaulted to the top of the Indiana record book for helpers in a career. The Calgary, Alberta, native has dished out 129 assists for her career, surpassing the previous record of 125, which was set by former Hoosier Deb Simone. Along that same vein, senior Claire Nicholson became the sixth Hoosier to have five assists in a game when she helped on five goals at Washington & Jefferson to wrap up the trip on March 25.
A CAREER TRIP
Freshman Rachel Edwards had a career roadtrip when the Hoosiers competed in Pennsylvania, tallying 10 goals, dishing out four assists and grabbing 10 steals. She set a career high with three goals at Grove City on March 24 and then matched that total at Slippery Rock the following day. Edwards also dished out a career-best two assists twice on the trip and grabbed four steals twice as well, including in the final game of the trip, at Washington & Jefferson on March 25.
SEASON OPENERS
The season-opening 2007 Michigan Kick-Off marked the sixth straight season in which the Hoosiers have opened play in Ann Arbor, going 1-3 at the event. Last season, Indiana went 1-3 at the Michigan Kick-Off, and won two of three contests at the Michigan Invitational to start the 2005 campaign. The Hoosiers have won just three season-openers at Michigan, the 16-3 win over UC Santa Cruz, a 6-5 overtime triumph over Arizona State on Jan. 24, 2004, and a 10-8 victory against Hartwick on Jan. 25, 2003.
IN THE RANKINGS
The water polo team opened the 2007 season where it finished the year before, ranked No. 20 in the National Collegiate Women's Top 20 Poll, which was released on Jan. 24. The Hoosiers were 11th in the preseason poll in 2006 and went on to spend the rest of the year in the rankings. The Hoosiers shared their preseason ranking with Brown University. The Hoosiers are also ranked No. 4 in the inaugural CWPA Poll.
After winning its second straight regular-season CWPA Western Division title in 2006, the Indiana water polo team is looking to repeat as divisional champion, return to the CWPA Eastern Championship and compete for a national title in 2007. The Hoosiers, who went 24-11 a year ago, return four of their top five players, including returning 201 of their 311 goals from 2006.
20 WINS THE MARK
For the eighth time in its nine-year existence, the Indiana water polo program eclipsed the 20-win plateau in 2006. Indiana went 24-11 last season. The lone year IU failed to win 20 was 2001, when the Hoosiers finished 18-12-1.
Indiana head coach Barry King has led the Hoosiers during every season as a varsity sport. In his nine years, he has guided the Hoosiers to a 208-117-2 (.636) record.
The school record for wins is 26. Indiana won 26 matches in 1998 and 2003. The 2003 squad also was the first to win the CWPA and advance to an NCAA-sponsored Final Four.
LEADING THE WAY
The Hoosiers return four of their top five players from a 2006 team that won its second consecutive CWPA Western Division Championship. In goal, the Hoosiers return second team All-Western Division selection Jackie Pyrz, a year after she posted 259 saves and a 6.24 goals against average. The Hoosiers will also have plenty of experience at defender, with seniors Emily Schmitt and Claire Nicholson anchoring the position. Schmitt returns to the Hoosiers after missing the 2006 season due to injury. The Beaverton, Ore., native has 87 career steals to go along with 67 scores in her 108 games as a Hoosier. Nicholson played in 30 matches in 2006for IU, registering 22 steals on the season to go along with four goals and 12 assists.
At attacker, the Hoosiers will rely on senior Kristen Zernicke and junior Brooke Zimmerman to run the offense. Zernicke is already in the top 10 in IU history with 170 career steals, while Zimmerman scored 53 goals in her first year as a Hoosier. Zimmerman also led all returning players in 2006 with 43 assists and 66 steals. The Hoosiers also return a strong scoring threat in center Melissa Soria. Soria returns for the Hoosiers after posting 61 goals a year ago, the third-most in the history of the Hoosier program, and earning second team All-CWPA laurels. She scored five goals on three different occasions last year and earned 42 kickouts on the year.
SETTING NEW MARKS
In 2006, junior Melissa Soria scored 61 goals, tying former Hoosier Krista Peterson for third on the single-season list, while senior Janis Pardy posted a single-season record with 47 assists on the season. She also added 47 goals and 71 assists on the year, both career highs. Sophomore Brooke Zimmerman posted outstanding numbers in her first season as a Hoosier, finishing second on the team with 53 goals, 43 assists and 66 steals. Junior Kristen Zernicke tallied 25 goals, 38 assists and 64 steals, as well. In goal, sophomore Jackie Pyrz set a new Hoosier record by facing 673 shots, while her 259 saves are the third-most by an Indiana goalkeeper in a single season. Zimmerman's 53 goals tie her for eighth-most in a single season in IU history, while her steals total is also the eighth-best single season mark. Zernicke's 38 assists on the year are the seventh-most in a single season in IU history, while her 64 steals tie her with Ginger Wang for ninth in a season.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
In 2006, five IU water polo student-athletes were named to the AWCPA All-Academic Team and eight were named Academic All-Big Ten. Junior Kristen Zernicke posted her third straight year as an "Outstanding" selection to the AWCPA team, the highest level of academic honor a player can receive from the organization.
