No. 18 Women's Water Polo Splits Matches to Open Season

The No. 18 Harvard women’s water polo team split its first two matches Saturday to open the 2017 season. Competing in the Coleman Aquatics Center at Brown, the Crimson dropped the first match of the Bruno Classic to No. 21 Wagner but rebounded with a decisive 13-6 win against Iona.

“Overall I think the weekend was a success,” sophomore Kristen Hong said. “Although we did suffer a tough loss to Wagner, I think the game showed us what we need to work on in order to succeed as a program. I’m really excited for this season because I think we have so much more room to grow in terms of executing our goals.”

HARVARD 13, IONA 6

Entering the second game of the Bruno Classic, Harvard found itself finishing the first quarter with a tied score for the second contest in a row. This time, however, it was the Crimson who quickly built ar lead in the second period.

The numbers alone proved astounding. In that second period, nine different players scored 10 goals for Harvard.

“We had a really good stretch in the Iona game where we went 10-0 on them,” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said. “I saw flashes of what this team is capable of doing.”

Despite Iona outscoring the Crimson 4-1 in the third quarter, Hong’s final-period hat trick and a strong showing by freshmen Julie Harrison, Angie Varona and Lana Gorlinski helped guarantee the victory for Harvard.

“I think what we lacked in the Wagner game was our normal energy level and enthusiasm for the game, which we brought to the Iona game,” said Hong. “In the end that made all the difference.”

WAGNER 10, HARVARD 5

Having already played several games this season, Wagner (1-3) came ready to fight hard. In the opening period, Harvard freshman Sofia Carrera-Justiz found the net twice in her first collegiate game, but both her goals elicited immediate responses from the Seahawks.

In the second and third quarters, Wagner gained momentum and opened a 9-4 lead. Though the Crimson made a push in the final period, the Seahawks successfully contained the Harvard attack to leave the pool with a win

The Crimson women's water polo team now heads to Bucknell to compete in the Bison Invitational on February 11th and 12th.

“Its very early in the season, and we’re coming off of the toughest preseason we’ve had since I got here,” Minnis said. “We made some mistakes against a very good Wagner team, but they have played several games this season. It was our first.”

—Staff writer Rena Simkowitz can be reached at rena.simkowitz@thecrimson.com.