M. Water Polo Tunes Up for Northerns; Wins 2

The No. 19 Harvard men's water polo team waltzed through its final tuneup before the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Championships this weekend, dusting one current club team and one future one.

The Crimson (19-8, 7-3 CWPA) opened a two-game set with an 11-5 victory over Boston College, and put the finishing touches on the evening with a 10-5 win over Dartmouth.

The twin wins gave Harvard some momentum headed into Saturday's crucial action after the team saw its impressive 11-game win streak die against No. 11 St. Francis two weeks ago.

Neither contest was ever in doubt, nor does either game bear any real significance in the standings. However, Harvard Coach Jim Floerchinger noted that the team needed a warmup beyond the team's rigorous practices in order to properly prepare for the weekend's challenges.

"It's good to play hard against guys who aren't on your team," Floerchinger said. "It's really just good to play games."

Harvard 10, Dartmouth 5

The last time Harvard and Dartmouth met, sophomore goaltender Paul Tselentis left the game early with a minor injury. Senior driver Josh Bliesath took over at a position he once played, and performed admirably.

Bliesath filled in for Tselentis again in the second game last night, although the circumstances surrounding the switch were far more somber. Tselentis suffered an epileptic seizure last Sunday, and watched the action from the sidelines.

Tselentis is recovering well, but his status for this weekend's tournament is doubtful.

"He was in no condition to play tonight," Floerchinger said. "He's been resting a lot, as you'd expect. We don't expect to see him this weekend."

Last night, Bliesath showed that, if called upon, he can capably spell junior keeper Gresham Bayne. He shut out the Big Green for the first quarter and made several highlight-reel stops, including foiling a one-on-none attempt in the closing seconds.

"I could see Gresham going the whole weekend," Elke said. "But Josh's performance was still great, in a nostalgic way."

Bliesath's good work in goal was more than enough to support the dominant Harvard offense. Junior Mike Crosby led a balanced attack that featured seven different Crimson scorers.

Harvard 11, Boston College 5

The first game against BC did not start out promisingly. The Eagles, who will fall to club status next year mostly due to a lack of funding, have been making the most of their final games in the varsity class. Harvard only beat them by three goals earlier in October and experienced another sluggish start last night, managing only two scores in the first quarter. Both were the handiwork of sophomore driver Mike Masterson.

BC showed its mettle in the second quarter, outscoring the Crimson 2-1. Harvard's attack was actually much crisper than it had been in the first frame, as the defense created a fair number of counterattack opportunities.

However, countless Crimson shots banged off the side of the BC cage. The unlucky strikes enabled the Eagles to narrow the gap to 3-2 at the half.

In the third quarter, things fell into place for Harvard. Crosby scored on a breakaway two minutes into the second half to begin the barrage. Thirty seconds later, sophomore driver Istvan Zollei swooped in on BC's goalkeeper from the right. After drawing the overwhelmed netminder out, he found the upper-left corner of the goal to make the score 5-2.

A similar strike from Todd Schulte and another goal from Zollei put the game completely out of BC's reach, and prompted Floerchinger to clear the benches.

Four freshmen saw rare action in the fourth quarter. One of them, David Stahl, found the scoring column when he unleashed an awkward-looking attempt from ten meters out. Somehow, the shot went in, sending the Harvard bench into hysterics.

"We started slow, but finished really well," Elke said. "It's good that everyone got to play tonight."

Bayne continued to shine in goal despite a near-immobile right arm due to an injury he sustained last year. He racked up 12 saves for Harvard, seven in the fourth quarter.

Upcoming Action

Northerns this year will have a distinctly different feel compared to previous years. Three teams have been added to the once eight-team field, prompting a revamping of the tournament's structure.

The meet will now feature a round-robin format with three divisions. Harvard is in the same division as Fordham, the US Merchant Marine Academy, and No. 13 UMass.

Harvard's task is daunting, considering three earlier losses to the Minutemen this year. Additionally, a scheduling quirk makes it necessary for Harvard, the No. 4 seed, to play more games than the 5th or 6th seeds in order to make the top four, thereby qualifying for the Eastern Championships.

"The idea is to just beat UMass," Floerchinger said. "That way, we make it out of our group undisputed. We're looking forward to it."

Harvard's first game is at 11:30 am on Saturday. If, as expected, Harvard and UMass each win their tournament openers, their much-anticipated showdown will happen at 4:30 pm at Blodgett.