M. Water Polo Splits in California

As 250,000 people gravitated to Harvard Square this weekend, the Harvard men's water polo team escaped to the West.

On the agenda: take in some sun and compete against some of the best teams in the country.

Harvard (9-18, 4-6 CWPA) came away with two wins and three losses.

"We should have done better," said sophomore goalie Josh Bliesath.

This seems to be the recurring theme of a frustrating year for the Crimson.

Although Harvard did emerge with an overall positive feeling from the weekend, the team suffered yet again from inconsistent performance.

There were great moments and hard-fought victories, but there were also times of lackadaisical and disappointing play.

"It seemed as if we fielded two teams," Bliesath said. "When we came out ready to play, we won. At other times, it was as if we didn't even show up."

After encountering the same New England teams over and over, Harvard decided to find fresh blood.

California, the hub of water polo in the United States, provided Harvard with exactly what it has been seeking--fresh faces on the opposing teams and great competition.

On Friday, the Crimson battled Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, only to fall short with a 9-5 loss.

However, the team emerged with a strong defensive effort Saturday morning to edge out La Verne, 9-8.

"We never absolutely killed them," senior Chris Tilghman said. "But we held stable all the way."

Riding this wave of momentum, Harvard continued its winning ways by destroying Chapman, 11-6, later Saturday morning.

"People were just really on," Tilghman said.

By putting away their shots and playing strong team defense, Harvard immediately opened with a large 7-1 lead and never looked back.

Saturday afternoon, however, would not be as kind to the Crimson. It suffered a disappointing 9-5 loss at the hands of Pomona.

After building a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, Harvard's offense stalled. Pomona came back with a two-pointer and a penalty shot to tie the match at 3-3, and the match would remain tied at half time.

In the second half, it was off to the races, and Harvard was left behind.

"We just didn't play well," Tilghman said. "We just gummed up on offense."

On Sunday morning, the offensive woes continued for Harvard, as it fell to George Washington 13-5.

In addition to a stalled offense, Harvard got burned badly on George Washington's counter-attacks.

George Washington scored four goals within a few minutes of each other on fast break opportunities.

"That was the nail in the coffin," Tilghman said.

Ending the weekend with two ugly losses and a red-eye flight back to Cambridge, the team needs some time to recuperate.

Fortunately, it has just that.

Harvard's next match, the last one of the season, is this Friday night against Boston College. Then it is on to the Northern Division Playoffs, also hosted by Harvard.

In recent weeks, the Crimson has been rejuvenated. After losing to Iona on October 10, the team feared that its season would be cut short by not qualifying for postseason play.

However, as a result of other teams' losses and a dynamic 10-7 victory at MIT last Wednesday, Harvard reestablished itself and earned a spot in the playoffs.

"I feel reborn," Bliesath said. "We have a chance to take our season to the next level."

Once the playoffs start, all records from the season are meaningless. It is single-elimination format, and Harvard hopes to capitalize on this system.

Harvard's first match of the postseason will be against Queens at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Having lost a close 9-7 battle to Queens earlier this year, Harvard looks to avenge that loss, hopefully with the help of enthusiastic fans.