M. Water Polo Rebuilds; Zimmerman Earns All-American

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 13-7

Coach: Don Benson

Key Players: Juniors Ed Chen, Andy Davis and Marty Edlund; Sophomore Mike Zimmerman

1997

It was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Harvard men's water polo team, and to some extent that prediction held true.

With only two seniors adorning the roster, the Crimson definitely felt the pangs of inexperience and inconsistency throughout its 23-game season. Not only did the team carry only 12 players, most of its reserves were either freshmen or sophomores. As a result, the bench was desperately needed, but sorely depleted.

"[Fatigue] was a factor this year," said senior Dan Arbalaez, the lone left-handed player on the team. "And we were smaller and had to rely on our speed and quickness instead of our size."

It became more and more difficult to outpace the other team as the physical exertion and lack of reserves kept the heroic last-second comebacks few and far between.

This youth and lack of depth was ever-present against Brown at the Northern Division Championships in mid-October.

The Crimson had only beaten the Bears twice in the team's 16 years as a varsity sport. In addition, Brown had dispatched Harvard by a four-goal margin earlier in the season. The stage was set for a classic Ivy battle.

"Brown's really been a thorn in our side," said head coach Don Benson '88 before the Eastern matchup. "They seem to find a way to win against us."

And once again, the Bears displayed their magic.

Brown broke out to an early 6-3 lead, but had its hands full with a delayed attack by the Crimson.

Led by sophomore standout 2-meter man Mike Zimmerman, Harvard tied the contest at six goals apiece. But with 15 seconds left in the half, Brown took the lead back for good.

The Bears walked away with a 10-8 victory, and although it was only one game, it told the story for the entire season.

"All season long, we've spotted teams leads and have come back to tie the game or go up by one goal," Benson said. "We never seem to have enough to close it."

In the beginning, however, Harvard appeared ready to surprise the pundits. First, the Crimson cruised to a 23-6 win over the hapless M.I.T Engineers. Zimmerman found the back of the net five times while captain Jonathan Gill added three goals.

Harvard then went on to notch solid victories over Washington & Lee and Bucknell at the Navy Invitational. At that point, expectations began to rise.

"Our team is starting to believe that we can compete with anyone in the East," Benson said after the round trip. "The key for us is to come out and play good aggressive polo in the first quarter of the games."

Throughout the course of the rest of the regular season, Benson's heed would at times be played out in magical harmony, while at other times it would prove to be a lesson in futility.

Perhaps the most promising and thrilling moment for this young team came against No. 12 Navy. In front of a hearty crowd at Blodgett Pool, the Crimson pushed the national powerhouse to overtime before eventually falling 12-9. The determining factor was the extra minutes in overtime which took its toll on the Crimson reserves.

The fight against Navy did prove that the Crimson could play with anyone. The only question remaining would be if it could beat the top teams given a full squad.

"After this past season--the way that we were able to play with such a young and small team--it spoke well for the future of the team," Arbalaez said. "They proved to themselves that they can play with an undermanned team."

The outlook for this team looks more than bright--it is blinding. Zimmerman, who was the top scorer last year with 56 goals and 24 assists, set a school record this season with 101 goals. The previous mark of 99 goals was set by his brother Jeff in 1993. As a result, Zimmerman garnered the Ivy League co-player of the year award with former high school teammate Kevin O'Sullivan of Brown and became the first men's water polo player in Harvard history to earn All-America recognition.

In addition, juniors Andy Davis and Marty Edlund, as well as goaltender Ed Chen will be back for their final seasons while freshmen Dror Bar-ziv and Tom Elke and sophomores Tom Chalberg and Chris Tilgham will have a valuable year of experience underneath their belts.

"We didn't have many expectations going into this season," Arbalaez said. "We lost a lot of seniors...I was much happier with this season than last because we did everything better. That was a testament to the younger players."

"We need to start knowing and learning how to win big games," Zimmerman said.

Hopefully for the Crimson the knowledge and experience from this past season will enable it to not only compete in the key matches, but actually emerge the victor. Only then will the team be able to shed the "rebuilding year" stigma.