The Women's Water Polo Alphabet

A is for Awesome: The Crimson has dropped only two games all year, both at the hands of MIT last weekend.

B is for Blodgett: That's where the Eastern Tournament will be played.

C is for "Counter!": That's the first word you'll hear out of the Harvard goalies' mouths when they get possession of the ball.

D is for Defense: The Crimson has one of the best defenses in the East. When the defense is working, it makes the Chicago Bears look like Columbia.

E is for Easterns: Harvard women have already won an Eastern tournament this year at Blodgett Pool. What goes around comes around...

F is for Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum: The Crimson have some intimidating swimmers on its team. They have several players who stand 5-ft., 8-in. and taller.

G is for Gustilo: Junior Tara Gustilo, that is. She has had a boatload of steals this season. When she shoots, she rises out of the water, getting tremendous leverage. Gustilo hurled the ball through the goal at MIT last week. It was last seen headed towards Toledo.

H is for H2O: That's the chemical formula for water. It is also what this team plays in.

I is for Inter-passing: Some teams are content with one pass and a shot. Harvard, however, likes to use many passes. In the graphic below, Kate Ford (5) has just been awarded a free throw after being fouled. She passes it to Lynley Ogilvie (7) who taps it out to Tara Gustilo (13).

Gustilo could have fired the ball right there, as there were only three Rhode Island players (RI) on defense. But junior Stacey Moran was waiting in the perimeter (I) for a chance to drive. Moran (9) was left untouched for the goal.

J is for Jane: Call senior Jane Looney "The Microwave"--she can heat up in a hurry. Once, coming off the bench in the second period against Brown, she scored two goals in less that two minutes.

K is for Kathy Kitayama: She may be small, but she can swim. She is one of the Crimson's most effective drivers, and she can put in the breakaway goals with the best of them.

L is for Leslie, Lynley and (Ei)leen: Harvard's captains have provided a lot of leadership this year. Leslie Barbi provides inspiration and savvy. Lynley Ogilvie directs plays from the two-meter position. And Eileen Pratt wins more than her share of swimoffs.

M is for Moran: Junior Stacey Moran has provided great scoring punch this year.

N is for Nationals: The national tournament will be held in Annapolis, Md. this year. If Harvard wins the Eastern tournament, it will make the trip to Navy just before final exams.

O is for Ozer, O'Connell, and Ogilvie: This may sound like a law firm, but these are the Crimson's two-meter players. Emily Ozer, Leean O'Connell, and Lynley Ogilvie have quarterbacked the offense to several wins this season.

P is for Power Play: The Crimson has gotten a lot of these this year because of its ability to draw fouls.

Q is for Quick: That's what defines the Harvard team. Pure and simple... and fast.

R is for Rockets: That's the nickname for Slippery Rock, one of the favorites this weekend.

S is for Sandler and Seimon: Amy Sandler and Tamsyn Seimon are two of the three Harvard goaltenders. They have been able to make the easy save and the great save when needed.

T is for Ten: Ten goals, that is. When Harvard reached the 10-goal plateau, it is 11-0. If it doesn't, its record is 1-2.

U is for Underwater: This is where much fouling action takes place because the two officials, stationed low at poolside, cannot see very far underwater.

V is for Victories: Twelve, to be exact, for the varsity team. Throw in the B-team games and the win count rises to 15.

W is for Wookie: Two freshmen on the team--Valerie Nellen and Julie Hopkins--are knows as The Wookies to their teammates. These are two to watch for the future.

X is for X's and O's: Harvard Coach Chris Hafferty knows all of his X's and O's, and is able to teach them to his players. And they are listening.

Y is for Yellow: The color of a water polo ball.

Z is for Zilch: That's about how much chance the other Eastern teams have if the Crimson plays as well as it has all year.