Homecoming

On the day that Blodgett Pool hosts its first men's water polo tournament of the season, we thought it appropriate to run the year's first Water Polo Notebook.

Harvard (2-7) opens play in the New England League Tournament against MIT this afternoon. It should be the first of what the team hopes will be four consecutive victories over Yale, UMass, and Boston College.

The fifth and final match of the weekend, against Brown, poses a significant threat to Crimson aspirations for a tournament sweep. The three-time defending Eastern Champion Bruins have proven themselves to be the league's dominant team again this season.

Based on the strength of its victory last weekend over nationally third-ranked Pepperdine, Brown is now ranked among the top eight in the country.

The matches at league tournaments such as the one hosted by Harvard this weekend help to determine the seedings for the Eastern Championships in November. Because of its four losses at an earlier tournament this season, it is doubtful that the Crimson will be seeded in the top four at the Easterns.

Turning to other business: The Crimson knocked off Phillips Exeter Academy, 11-3, yesterday in a match which was helpful because it offered many of the freshmen an opportunity to play.

Two freshmen who have been seeing a lot of playing time in recent matches are goalie John Beber and wing Eric Bentley. The two are battling in the "Freshman of the Year" contest--the winner of which has to play throughout the entire MIT match in two weeks.

The winner also earns the right to swim a 200-meter butterfly at the quarter breaks and a 400 individual medley at halftime.

Bentley, who notched a hat trick in Tuesday's BC game, and Kyle Enright are competing for the seventh and final starting position in the lineup. The positions of Tri-Captains Bill Wolff, Fred Scherrer and Ben Elizondo, as well as those of Wade Stokes, Pete Kaiser and goalie Don Benson seem secure.

For several players, the highlight of last weekend's matches against the California teams was the opportunity to meet Pablo Morales and Terry Schroeder. Morales, who plays polo for Stanford, is the current world-record holder in both the 100 and 200 Butterfly.

"Just sitting down and talking to Pablo Morales is an experience I'll remember for a lifetime," Elizondo said.

Kaiser's memories are a little more distinct. "I drove on him, and I beat him," he said. "That was the highlight of the game for me."

Pepperdine and US National Team Coach Schroeder is best remembered for having posed naked for the male statue which stood outside the entrance to Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum during the 1984 Summer Olympics.

One highlight of the BC match was a shot-clock which buzzed so loudly that play was suspended for 10 minutes. The clock eventually had to be turned off, forcing players to look up at the main scoreboard to see how much time they had left to shoot.