W. Water Polo Falls at NCAAs

No, the Harvard women's water polo team did not win the national title. And no, it did not really come too close.

But the trip down to Maryland last Friday, Saturday and Sunday was by no means a waste of time. It was the Crimson's first trip to the Nationals, and even though the team got bludgeoned by its opponents, the experience was well worth it.

"It was incredible to be there," freshman Amanda Moger said, "and to be playing against those kind of teams."

The scores were, weli, scary. The only close game for Harvard was its 9-4 loss to Maryland, the only team seeded below Harvard in the tournament. The other games? On Friday, Harvard lost by a 20-3 margin to San Diego State and by a 14-3 score Slippery Rock--the eventual NCAA Champion.

The pair of opening losses forced the Crimson into the consolation bracket, and things didn't get too much easier. A 14-1 loss to UCLA and a 12-6 downing by Michigan set the tone for Saturday, which left Harvard with one last game against Maryland.

This was the one that Harvard was hoping to win. The Crimson was pretty evenly matched with the Terrapins, but a slow start--which was forgivable, given the 8:00 a.m. starting time--doomed Harvard. Maryland jumped out to a 5-0 lead at halftime, forcing Harvard to try to dominate in the second. That didn't happen, as both teams tallied four in the final period.

"We were just having a bad day," junior Ana Dujmovic said. "We were seeded before them, and we could have won."

But Harvard didn't, and subsequently placed eighth out of eight teams.

That finish doesn't seem like a major success--after all, nobody is happy to come in last.

The Crimson, however, was looking at the bigger picture. And that showed a squad that made it to the nationals for the first time in the school's history.

"The most exciting part was that we made it to nationals,' co-captain Christine McElroy said. "No one was upset with the losses--we were just happy to make it there."

The West Coast teams especially were a notch above Harvard. Having recruited players with extended pre-collegiate careers, teams like San Diego State and UCLA weren't in Harvard's league.

"[Western teams] really work together," Moger said. "They pay attention to what they're doing. They don't make mistakes, and if they do they're small mistakes that are [soon corrected]."

More than anything, the trip last weekend (besides being an excuse not to study) was a learning experience. Before thre trip, Harvard had only heard about these types of teams and had not played against them, save an annual meeting with Pennsylvania-based Slippery Rock.

Now things are different. The Crimson has played against teams of this national caliber, has seen how they carry themselves and how they play the game.

"Especially for the freshman and sophomores, [the tournament] showed what the team had to do to step it up," McElroy said.

Signs of Harvard's hopeful ascension into the water polo elite is not limited to the placement in the tournament. East coast prep schools are beginning to have women's water polo teams; Moger and fellow freshman Una Kim are some of the first graduates of these squdas.

Western teams have always had the luxury of having a team made up solely of high school veterans, and Harvard may someday be in that class too.

"The levels of experience really showed," McElroy said. "They've all been playing six to eight years, whereas a lot of people on our team have only been playing for three to four."

No, Rome was not built in a day. And no, the Harvard women's water polo team did not win in its first time at Nationals.

But the capital of Italy eventually did rise up off the banks of the Tiber. For the Crimson, only the future can tell.