Zimmerman Piles Up Records, Goals

Something exciting is going on down at Blodgett Pool: Jeff Zimmerman, co-captain of the men's water polo team, is simply mystifying opponents with an All-American year.

The Mather senior's statistics speak for themselves: only a third of the way through the season, his 63 goals leads his closest teammate by a whopping 24. Zimmerman also leads the Crimson with 20 assists and 21 drawn ejections.

He also has shown a proficiency in taking control of games, scoring a school-record 11 goals against Army to October. In short, he's an offensive force.

"It's been a blast," Zimmerman said. "I haven't done anything really special this year. I'm just in the best swimming shape ever, and I've adjusted to longer pools, so I'm not as tired. Nothing's different."

But Zimmerman's endurance and swimming ability is not the only reason for his exceptional performances, says his coach.

"He's very big," Coach Andy Freed '90 said. "But he makes the most of it. A lot of scores are due to his game awareness--he has the best game awareness of anyone. He is also very good defensively. He creates offensive breakaways with his defense."

However, it was not always clear that Zimmerman was destined to be a water polo star. While most players start at an early age, Zimmerman started playing the game in high school on, essentially, a whim.

"I was a freshman playing football in St. Louis, and a good friend of mine had a brother who played polo," Zimmerman said. "So I decided to play."

After four years in the pool, Zimmerman applied early to Harvard after falling in love with it during a visit. Although polo was not his major concern, he nonetheless tried out for the team--where he found out high school and college polo was a different game.

"I didn't follow anything on the national polo scene," said Zimmerman. "Most people [at Harvard] had played a lot earlier. When I got here, I was like `whoa.' At first I could only go in for a few minutes because I would get tired quickly.

Nevertheless, when he first showed up to the polo team, Freed saw something amazing in him.

"Jeff clearly had lots of physical potential," Freed said. "He started to realize it his sophomore year, and he was the team MVP his sophomore and junior years."

"I had some problems sophomore year when I began starting; I was worried about getting tired," Zimmerman said.

It is this year, however, that Zimmerman is truly making his mark.

"Jeff is clearly one of the most dominant players I've seen--one of the most dominant on the East Coast," Freed said. "And out of the water, he is an outstanding captain. He fills the leadership role very well."

No matter how spectacular he is, though, Zimmerman is gunning for team victories. And although Harvard is ranked 22nd in the nation, he says he wants more.

"We're short of that little step," Zimmerman said. "I know we can [win the Ivy Championship], but we're having problems climbing up higher--we're close, but not on our full potential."