Women's Water Polo Places Third at Ivy League Championship Tournament

Following a weekend without matches, the Harvard women’s water polo team traveled to Princeton for the second time this month to take part in the inaugural Ivy Championship Tournament this past weekend.

Coming into the tournament seeded third, the Crimson (5-4, 2-1 CWPA) battled to a 6-5 loss in the tournament’s semifinal round against second-seeded Brown (3-3) and went on to defeat Dartmouth, 14-0, in the third-place match.

HARVARD 14, DARTMOUTH 0

Following a last-minute loss to the Bears in the tournament semifinal, Harvard faced off against the Big Green in a battle for third place in the tournament on Sunday morning.

The Crimson opened the game on an offensive tear, scoring five goals in the first three minutes of the match, leading up to a seven-goal first quarter. After an 11-save performance in the semifinal, freshman goalie Cleo Harrington earned her first shutout of the season, making seven saves against Dartmouth.

Junior attacker Charlotte Hendrix contributed to the scoring with two goals in the fourth quarter. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native also headed the defensive team effort that Harvard put forth throughout the match.

“We didn’t let them score,” Hendrix said. “That was one of our goals, to have a shutout. We played such phenomenal defense in the [semifinal] game, and we wanted that to carry over into the [consolation] game.”

The Crimson was in cruise control for the entirety of the contest, stretching its lead to eight by halftime. Junior attacker Rachel Lobato led the way for Harvard with four goals, while freshman attacker Sami Strutner chipped in a goal and a team-high five assists.

BROWN 6, HARVARD 5

The first round of the tournament pitted the Crimson against Ivy counterpart Brown in an early morning matchup on Saturday for a spot in the championship game against host Princeton.

Both teams had trouble finding the net throughout the game, but it was the Bears who broke through in the final minute of play to take the lead and the game 6-5. Senior attacker Liz Rosen gave Brown the lead with a shot from the right wing, which followed a string of passes from the Brown attack.

The first half saw the Bears jump out to a 5-2 lead before the halftime break. Harvard coach Ted Minnis lamented his team's inability to capitalize on offensive opportunities in the first half.

“[We] just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Minnis said. “We went one for five on our power play, and you can’t win games that way.”

However, the Crimson defense stepped up in the third and fourth quarters, allowing only one goal in the second half of play, which included a stretch of 14 shutout minutes. Captain Victoria Frager produced five steals in the contest, keeping the score close throughout.

“We’ve been happy with how we’re practicing,” Hendrix said. “And at this point in the season, it’s good that we’re playing at this level, and it’s okay to be at a point where we have room to move forward.”