Aquamen Try to Make History Against Brown; Team Speed Key Issue

Tonight at Blodgett pool, the Harvard men's water polo team will try to do what no Crimson water polo team has ever done since the it became a varsity sport in 1981: beat Brown.

Despite all the past losses to the Bears and despite another Brown squad with a deadly counterattack, the Crimson is confident.

"Tomorrow I think we have a good chance to make water polo history," Co-Captain Chad Barker said. "We have a stronger and more confident team than I think we've ever had. Regardless, though, it will be real close."

Fellow Co-Captain Mason Ford agreed.

"We're coming off a strong weekend (the team went 3-1 at the Eastern League tournament) and we're playing real well," he said. "We have a great chance to beat them. We're confident."

One key to the match for the Crimson will be its ability to stifle the deadly Brown counterattack, a traditional strength of the Bears. This will pose an especially tough problem for Harvard's defense, which struggled in the team's loss to Navy on Sunday.

"They've always made the transition from defense to offense real fast," Barker said. "We'll have to stop that if we want to win."

Another key will be Harvard's ability to use speed to penetrate the Brown defense.

"We're going to need to get a bunch of goals in the front court," Ford said. "We've got an explosive offense this season."

"One of the differences between this year and the past is that we have more speed than we've ever had," Barker said. "If we can utilize it, I think we'll win."