April 16, 2016

Grove City goes 1-1

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Grove City College women's water polo team went 1-1 Saturday at the season-ending Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III Championships, hosted by Connecticut College. The fifth-seeded Wolverines opened tournament play with a 14-6 loss to No. 4 seed Penn State Behrend in the quarterfinal round.

However, the Wolverines rebounded in the consolation bracket for a 12-7 win over No. 8 Utica. Grove City will conclude the tournament Sunday by facing either Monmouth (Ill.) or Macalester in the fifth place match at 10:20 a.m.

Grove City charged out to a 6-0 lead after one quarter against Utica and extended the lead to 9-2 by halftime. Six different Grove City players scored in the win, led by a four-goal outing from junior Abby Jank (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).

Junior Grace Klimek (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette), sophomore Maggie Blume (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and freshman Abby Spicher (Erie, Pa./McDowell) all scored twice in the win while sophomore Brynna Bartlett (Olive Branch, Miss./St. George's) and freshman Megan Crutcher (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) each scored once.

Seniors Ashley Henderson (Lansing, Mich./Lansing Christian) and Ashley Parks (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) both had five assists apiece. Jank, Spicher and freshman Jillian Breckenridge (Dunellen, N.J./Dunellen) all had one assist each.

Henderson led the defense with four steals and Parks recorded three steals. In goal, freshmen Heidi Schmidt (Pittsburgh, Pa./Trinity Christian) and Rachel Blasdell (Leesburg, Va./Homeschooled) combined to make nine saves. Schmidt stopped five shots while Blasdell stopped four.

Parks posted three goals and two assists in Saturday's opener against Penn State Behrend. Blume scored twice and Henderson added a goal for the Wolverines, who trailed 8-3 at halftime. Spicher also assisted two goals while Henderson and Jank each had one assist.

Jank paced the defense with four steals while Henderson and Blume totaled three thefts each. Schmidt made three saves.

Grove City earned two wins over both Macalester and Monmouth during the regular season.

Go back to Wolverine Water Polo Home Page