W. Water Polo Sweeps Four Weekend Opponent

Call it March Badness.

The Harvard women's water polo team has hit the softer portion of its schedule, and it showed over the weekend.

The No. 18 Crimson swept past four opponents in a College Water Polo Association New England meet hosted by Connecticut College. The tournament began with matches against Bates, Wesleyan and host Connecticut College on Saturday. The team concluded an unbeaten weekend against Middlebury yesterday.

The results of the matches themselves were of little consequence. Harvard was heavily favored against each of its opponents. The Crimson is currently one of the few Eastern powers in what is predominantly a West Coast sport. By contrast, none of this weekend's opponents came close to being ranked in the latest National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Poll.

Many of the teams at the New England divisional meet, including Crimson victim Connecticut College, are in their water polo programs' maiden voyages. Connecticut College's major selling point on the weekend was not as much its team as the first tournament hosted in its new state-of-the-art facility. Gordon Natatorium features a separate shallow warm-up area in addition to its all-deep-water polo section.

For the Crimson, the entire weekend was a warm-up. Each game was essentially over by the end of the first quarter. The fact that the games were not close, as well as the rigorous four-game weekend, resulted in many of the team's reserves receiving ample playing time.

Although many of those in the water for Harvard had not played much earlier in the year, the victories were never in doubt.

"We did well," tri-captain Angela Munoz said. "Everyone who doesn't get to play a whole lot did exactly what they had to do."

Although it is difficult to substantively judge the importance of a series of blowouts, Munoz expressed satisfaction with the team's performance.

"There weren't many great standout individual performances because everyone did such a great job," Munoz said. "Our teamwork was great, that's the important thing."

With the win, Harvard's won-loss record became more indicative of the level it has played at this year. The team began the spring season with 1-3 and 2-1 outings at invitational meets at Princeton and Brown, respectively.

The first two meets, however, represented the roughest portion of the Crimson's schedule for weeks. The Harvard schedule was deliberately configured to open with a baptism by fire, pitting the team against higher-regarded opponents like UMass and Brown.

March goes out like a lamb early for the Crimson, however. Meets like the one at Connecticut College and next week's tournament at MIT feature lesser opponents, and are an opportunity to build on what was learned in the initial challenges. The month will end with matches in California against unranked UC-Irvine and Whittier College before the championship season commences in April.

"We're in a bit of a lull right now," Munoz said. "But this gives us a chance to work on a few things. The second string gets to play, and some very good swimmers who just got back from their other events get the chance to practice more."

Harvard Coach Jim Floerchinger hopes that the schedule will help his team in preparation for the College Water Polo Association Eastern Championships at Princeton on April 29. Last year, the team barely missed a trip to the national championships. This year, a more mature club is primed for another run at an Eastern berth.

At the very least, this weekend proved that the Crimson wins the games is are supposed to.