The University of Michigan water polo team learned at Monday’s NCAA Selection Show that it will meet No. 3 seed California in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, May 6, at 6 p.m.Michigan will compete in its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 11th overall. Michigan will host the championship this year, which will be held May 6-8 at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor.Michigan and California met twice in 2022, with the Wolverines losing both games. Michigan fell 12-8 to Cal in their 2022 season opener at the ASU Cross Conference Challenge, and the teams met again on March 25 in the Wolverines’ home pool in Ann Arbor, with the Golden Bears winning 13-8. Michigan is 2-15 versus California all-time, with the most recent victory coming in the 2020 season.
“We’re ecstatic,” head coach Dr. Marcelo Leonardi stated. “I believe that the volume of effort we produced during the season earned us the sixth seed. I’m thrilled to play Cal; we’ve played them previously at Michigan, so we’re familiar with our matchup and the game’s atmosphere. It provides us with an opportunity to fix some of the mistakes we made earlier in the season. Anything is possible in a single game, in a single day.”
Michigan will enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 26-8. The squad defeated No. 17 Harvard, 10-4, in the CWPA Championship game and finished the regular season 12-0 in conference play. Michigan’s NCAA Tournament record is 6-15 all-time.
