W. Water Polo Endures Marathon Spring Break

If you're looking for stamina, look no further than the women's water polo team.

Harvard (11-7, 1-3 Ivy) criss-crossed the country last week, playing eight away games in 10 days.

In a test of their endurance as well as their playing skills, the women's marathon break included face-offs against longtime rivals UMass, Princeton and Brown. While the Crimson fell to its Ivy League opponents, captains Jesse Gunderson and Natasha Magnuson led the team from Connecticut to California to capture five solid wins.

The Crimson's first stop on its national tour was Connecticut College, where it faced off against UMass and the home team. Harvard's defense was in top form against the Minutewomen. Junior goalkeeper Danielle McCarthy made an impressive eight saves and Gunderson drew four kick-outs in order to keep the Crimson women within striking distance early on. After being down early, Harvard scored three goals in the third quarter to tie the score up at 4-4.

True to their nickname, however, the Minutewomen scored the tie-breaking goal at a moment's notice in the fourth quarter, and won the game 6-5.

As if to avenge the loss, the Crimson women came back to slaughter Connecticut College, 10-2. More a contest of team depth than of skill, Harvard overpowered the Camels' defense from the outset. Of the 10 Harvard goals, freshman Liz Anderson and sophomore driver Arianne Cohen, also a Crimson editor, contributed seven. Sophomore driver Kate Callaghan also came away from the game with an imposing total of six steals.

Harvard then headed to the Golden State to face the University of California at Santa Cruz and California State University at Hayward. The women turned the good weather into wins against both teams, defeating the UCSC Banana Slugs 12-6 and the Hayward Pioneers 14-2.

Gunderson, Magnuson and junior Christine Meiers scored three goals apiece in the UCSC game while freshman Elana Miller saved eleven of the Slugs' would-be goals. Harvard's winning streak fell with the temperature as the Crimson returned to the East Coast to compete in the ECAC championships at Princeton.

The jet-lagged Crimson lost to the home team in the first game of the tournament 10-5. Harvard's offense wilted under strong competition from the Tigers' offensive line, led by freshman Adele McCarthy-Beauvais and sophomore Cassie Nichols, though Harvard sophomore Tiana Peterson managed 3 goals against freshman goalie Jenny Hildebrand.

While the Crimson women then recovered enough to hand the Gannon College

Emus a 13-7 loss, in the next game the Brown offense proved too much to handle. The Bears pulled away in the fourth quarter and triumphed, 6-3.

The Crimson made its final spring break appearance April 1, winning 7-5

over Hartwick College. Harvard hopes that the momentum from this last victory will carry into this weekend as CWPA Northerns, the only tournament that will be held at Blodgett Pool this year.