M. Water Polo Sinks Even Deeper

One year ago the Harvard men's water polo team believed that the end of its rebuilding period was drawing near. After suffering through a seemingly endless string of sub-.500 seasons, Coach Don Benson '88 finally began to see daylight with the dawn of the 1997 campaign.

For the first time in his three years at the Crimson helm, Benson began preseason workouts not only in the wake of a respectable season (15-8), but with a full roster. Looking out into the pool, he couldn't help but smile as he watched junior All-American Mike Zimmerman whip a warm-up blast into the upper corner of the net, or senior goalie Ed Chen knock a shot to the wayside.

Zimmerman, who had tallied a school record 101 goals the previous year, looked bigger and stronger after a summer of training with the national team.

Record: 10-18, 3-1 EWPA

Coach: Don Benson '88

Seniors: Ed Chen, Andy Davis, Marty Edlund, Joe Villa

Surrounding Zimmerman and Chen were seniors Andy Davis, Joe Villa and Marty Edlund, who looked perfectly comfortable alongside six new freshmen faces, most of whom towered over six feet, giving Harvard some much-needed size.

Benson laughed easily back then and even joked about the prospect of bringing his newborn child--who was due in less than a month--to Blodgett Pool for a few of the games.

Ten months later, after a 10-18 season which included an unprecedented loss to club-team equivalent MIT, however, the laughter has left the Harvard waters and Benson is gone.

Splattered with untimely injuries and undeniable growing pains, this past year was a mix of surprise and disappointment that was capped off when Benson stepped down as head coach following the team's 7-5 loss to Brown at the Eastern Qualifying Tournament.

"It came as a shock when he told us [at the end of the season], but at the same time we weren't surprised," said Chen of Benson, who exited Harvard in order to spend time with his new family. "As for the season, we couldn't put a finger on what was wrong for the longest time. We were working hard and we had a lot of talent, and it came as a shock that we were losing all those games."

Offense was never the problem--at least it wasn't supposed to be. With Zimmerman positioned at the 2-meter spot, Edlund and Davis filled out the attack as utility men. And as opposed to the previous season, when the team had only 13 players, the newly acquired depth on the Harvard roster allowed for a more explosive and penetrating counter-attack.

"When you know that a guy can come off the bench and you won't lose a step, it just makes you push it even harder on the counter-attack," Davis said. "Last year it was seven guys going seven minutes for four quarters, and it was just too difficult."

Despite the added firepower, Harvard dropped its first game of the season to Massachusetts, 4-16. A win against Iona in which the Crimson tallied a season-high 22 goals was quickly overshadowed by the losing streak waiting in the wings. Beginning with a 6-10 loss to Brown on Sept. 18, Harvard embarked on a seven-game winless string that included the embarrassing 10-11 defeat at the hands of the Engineers.

On that evening, Harvard endured one of its most disturbing losses in the program's history, one which Zimmerman labeled "the worst of them all."

"I don't think that we've ever lost to MIT before," Benson said. "It was very hard to find a silver lining in that one."

MIT took advantage of the Crimson's slow start and sloppy play by jumping out to an early 4-2 lead in the opening quarter. Harvard committed 20 fouls in the first 28 minutes of play and trailed the entire way.

The most unsettling element to the loss, however, was the lack of inspired play, which became an even more dire concern as the season progressed.

"We've had meetings, we've tried practicing harder, we are trying to do anything," said Zimmerman following the MIT debacle. "I'm not sure what the exact problem is. I know that we are a very capable team, and I know that it will turn around."

Unfortunately things got much worse for the Crimson--especially for Zimmerman--in just the next game.

Facing off against Massachusetts for a second time, Harvard battled early, but a series of third quarter mental lapses by the Crimson led to four unanswered goals and a comfortable 9-3 lead for the Minutemen. Few teams would be able to recover from such a deficit against the regional powerhouse, and Harvard had no chance, especially without a healthy Zimmerman.

In the waning moments of the final quarter, Zimmerman sprained ligaments in his right thumb and was placed in a hand cast one week later. The injury sidelined Harvard's leading scorer for the next month, and it wasn't until the Qualifying Tournament in late October when he finally re-emerged.

Although the immediate effects of Zimmerman's loss translated into three straight Crimson defeats, there was a grain of positive energy that surfaced in his place. The enigma of the first half of the season soon became clearer as Harvard recognized its over-reliance on the All-American's abilities.

"On paper, I think that we looked better than we did the previous season, but the mentality of knowing what your teammates were going to do wasn't there," Chen said. "I think that we compensated well after `Z' got knocked out because we weren't resting as much on the talent that we were supposed to have."

"The fact that we were missing the man that we depended on so much made everyone realize that we had to start doing things for ourselves. We kind of got out of that rut and then when `Z' got back it got much better," he said.

Zimmerman's return came right in time for the tournament that would decide the Crimson's postseason fate. A win against Brown in the qualifying game was necessary for the team to advance to the Eastern Championships the following weekend.

Despite a two-goal performance by Zimmerman, Harvard could not find the Cinderella touch, however. The Bears exploded for two quick tallies in the final three minutes of play to secure the 7-5 Brown victory.

The Crimson then ended its season the next afternoon with two impressive wins over Fordham and Boston College.

"During the last three weeks, our play really improved," Benson said. "I think that we played as well that last weekend as we played all year. No one quit, no one gave up the whole season. Our only disappointment was losing to Brown--I really think that we outplayed them."

Heading into next year, the Crimson will suffer the pangs of graduation as Chen, Edlund, Davis and Villa all leave visible holes on both sides of the pool.

The most alarming vacancy will be in net, as Chen and Villa were the only two goaltenders on the Harvard roster last season. Those problems are no longer Benson's, however, as the torch of the Harvard water polo program has been officially passed on to Jim Floerchinger, the head man at Lehman College last season.

But even as the new faces arrive both in and out of the pool and the urgency to generate a winning program mounts, the past struggles will not be forgotten.

"Every year is a learning year. This is still a young program, so we can learn even from a bad year," Chen said. "We try to look at it optimistically and not just say that we had a crappy season and leave it at that. With a young program, we don't have the luxury of having memories of any glory years from 20 years ago. We are creating our own past right now."