May 11, 2008
PALO ALTO, Calif. -
NCAA Championships
(4)San Diego State 12, (6) Michigan 9
Avery Aquatic Center -- Stanford, Calif.
May 11, 2008
San Diego State Head Coach Carin Crawford
On the game:
"I thought we played a great game today. We knew that having played Michigan twice already this season, won both times by pretty close margins, today would be a very challenging and very tough game. We got a nice lead and sure enough they put together a good rally and had a lot of momentum going. I think we showed great character in withstanding that comeback attempt and getting back on track with our offense and really putting the game away in the fourth quarter. It was a great win and we're really happy that we could send our three seniors out with a win in their last game in the NCAA tournament, so we're very happy."
On SDSU's junior trio:
"These three juniors (Anna Gonzales, Erinn Greenwood and Jenna Schuster) have given us so much offense this season overall, not just in the goal scoring, but in the ejections drawn as well. Erinn Greenwood had four ejections drawn today, so when they're not putting the ball in the goal, they're creating lots of different ways for their other teammates to score. They have definitely been the mainstays of our offense, and I think these three juniors, having gotten to the NCAA tournament two years in a row, they've been a huge part of that. They have been a tremendous asset to our program, and to the success of our season, and they showed why they're great today. They each had a great game in all of the areas where they shoot well. Erinn was working her two-meters, and Jenna with her inside driving."
San Diego State's Erinn Greenwood
On getting a school record 31 wins:
"This year we have brought our team to a different level than it was last year. We had a really close team last year, so it was great setting the record, but I feel like proving ourselves this year was a big thing we needed to do. Coming out and beating Cal twice, and beating Hawai'i at home, it was great to set the bar even higher for next year. Hopefully we'll be able to come back to NCAA's next year and place even higher than we did this year."
Michigan Head Coach Matt Anderson
On the game:
"That's the exciting thing about the NCAAs, that was probably one of the best game [the tournament] has had in years. That was just a toe-to-toe exciting game, and all of our games against San Diego State this year have been that way. We battled, we came out, and unfortunately we allowed them to do something they like to do early, and then when we started denying the thing they like to do, thats when we made that run and got back into the game."
"Those were two of the craziest rebound goals I've ever seen in many years of coaching water polo, and they happened within about 20 seconds of each other, too. If we play those 30 seconds again, and 100 times it won't happen that way, but sometimes the ball bounces for you and sometimes it doesn't. But we played well, just unfortunately their goals came off of three penalties and some 6-on-5s, but as far as our defense and them trying to score a natural goal, it was those rebound goals that they got. So I commend my girls for coming out and staying aggressive. Its just a matter of we ran out of timeand were scrambling. They just had the clock on their side. It was just one of those times where you run out of time, and that's what happened today. It was a great way at the end of the year to say you wanted to win, but you really laid everything out, so you can walk away saying that was an exciting game, and the future is extremely bright for this program."
On having to play from behind:
"Against a team like San Diego State, the No. 6 team in the nation, I felt that when we got it back to 7-7 that it was our game, but, as in craps, sevens are unlucky, and they got two quick rebound goals and that's what happened. Other than that we did an extremely good job of coming back hard against an extremely tough team, and that's not only how this team played all year, but its also exciting leading into next year."
Michigan's Sharayah Hernandez
On tying things up at 7-7 in the third quarter:
"I was actually really frustrated with myself, and my assistant coach told me to go out there, grab it, take a foul and just shoot the ball and that's it. But then I went out there, and I'd been waiting for it, I wanted to take a five-meter, I just picked it up and willed it in. I was like please go in. I just wanted to put my team up. Even if we were down I was like come on, we can do it, get it back, get it back, we're so close. I think out defense was the number one thing we needed to be strong with, and we had a couple of slip-ups and I think that was our downfall a little bit."
"I saw everybody was working very, very hard, and I don't feel disappointed in my team at all. I'm actually happy right now because we played so well together."
"I see a lot of people stepping up and that makes me proud of them and happy for them because I know a lot of girls get frustrated as well. For them to step up for their team is just awesome."