MEN'S WATER POLO: New Coach, Seniors Help Team Improve

First-year head coach Ted Minnis led the 2010 Harvard men’s water polo team to the most victories in a season since 2007. The Crimson (12-16, 2-5 CWPA) earned third place at the first-ever Ivy Championship and finished the year with a fifth-place finish at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division Championship.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” Minnis said. “You saw us get better every day.”

“We had a really exceptional team this season,” co-captain Bret Voith added. “Both individually and as a team, we took big steps from last year. I think it was a combination of our new coaching staff and the veterans of the team coming together to form a new culture.”

And the veterans did lead the team. Throughout the season, three seniors, Jeff Lee, Alex Thompson, and Voith headed Harvard’s pursuit of wins.

The senior attackers Lee and Voith set the pace for the Crimson in goals, each netting 38 for the season. Thompson followed with 34 goals. As a defender, he led the team with 49 steals on the year.

“We have a big class to fill with the senior class that’s graduating,” Minnis said.

Both Thompson and Voith earned CWPA North Division Player of the Week honors.

A fourth senior, Eric Taylor, who was added to the roster from the swim team, helped the team when injuries left gaps in the squad. Two sophomores,  Antone Martinho and Max Eliot, were out for almost the duration of the season.

“There were many times we were low on numbers due to injuries, but we still found ways to dig deep and play hard,” Lee said.

Throughout the season, Harvard relied on its speed.

“One of our strengths is definitely our speed,” Lee said. “We can swim as fast if not faster than most teams in the country, and that’s something we are proud of.”

Midseason, the Crimson took a trip to California for a five-game weekend, playing against top-ranked teams.

“It was a big testing point for us,” Voith said.

Returning to the home state of 10 of the 16 men on the roster proved to be a relative success, as the team came away from the weekend with a 2-3 mark. The loss against Pomona-Pitzer was especially close, with Harvard narrowly falling, 10-9.

“This year’s trip really showed [that] all the work was paying off,” Voith said.

During the trip, the Crimson faced No. 5 UC Santa Barbara. Though they couldn’t come back from a 11-3 deficit, Harvard had a strong showing in the fourth quarter, matching the Gauchos in goals.

“Those close games against UCSB and Pomona showed that we are a lot more competitive,” Voith said.

“Once we all got on the same page, we were successful,” Minnis added.

Certain players were successful all year long, garnering player-of-the-week awards as well as CWPA Scholar-Athlete honors.

“What you see is a significant amount of work in the offseason,” Voith said. “Guys are really focusing and committing to improve themselves and the team.”

For next year, the Crimson is looking to improve on its record and continue to grow as it did this year.

“Princeton and Brown are two Ivy teams that we would love to beat,” Minnis said. “Every game is going to be a great challenge for us—I’m excited.”

Leading the team next year is returning co-captain junior Luka Babic and the team’s 2010 Most Improved Player, junior Kevin DiSilvestro. Together the two had 46 goals, 28 assists, and 37 steals.

“The team is losing half of the starting line-up, so there will be a very different feel,” Voith said. “Hopefully, we’ve built some hunger for the guys still on the team.”

“The other seniors and I are proud to have established a strong foundation with Coach Minnis in his first year for the program to grow tremendously in the next couple years,” Lee added.

—Staff writer Emily Rutter can be reached at erutter@college.harvard.edu.