M. Water Polo Wins Three in New York

For the Harvard men's water polo team, it's become a familiar, almost repetitive refrain. Another weekend, another step toward becoming the new beast of the East.

It's a routine the upstart Crimson can live with.

No. 20 Harvard (13-6, 5-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association) ran its win streak to eight with a 3-0 swing through New York this weekend, including wins over a ranked Iona team and Ivy League rival Brown. The Crimson continued its resurgence from a surprising 12-11 loss to unranked MIT on September 27.

Harvard has gone 8-1 since that setback, the one loss being a competitive 9-7 battle with No. 17 Princeton.

"Both the Iona and Brown games were close, but we never were scared," said Harvard Coach Jim Floerchinger. "We relied on each other, and executed well. We expected success."

Harvard 9, Iona 8

Unfortunately, Iona's facilities have yet to experience a similar renaissance. Unlike Blodgett's all-deep, Olympic-caliber pool, the Gaels' pool has a shallow end that complicates the field of play.

The pool's shallow end gives Iona an advantage in virtually every home game, and created a greater challenge for the Crimson than Iona's boisterous home crowd.

"It was terrible," said sophomore Istvan Zollei. "Coming from Hungary, I'd never played in a shallow-end pool before, and it made things incredibly difficult for us."

Unfortunately, Iona's facilities have yet to experience a similar renaissance. Unlike Blodgett's all-deep, Olympic-caliber pool, the Gaels' pool has a shallow end that complicates the field of play.

The pool's shallow end gives Iona an advantage in virtually every home game, and created a greater challenge for the Crimson than Iona's boisterous home crowd.

"It was terrible," said sophomore Istvan Zollei. "Coming from Hungary, I'd never played in a shallow-end pool before, and it made things incredibly difficult for us."

Harvard adjusted its strategy quickly, beginning with its goaltending situation. The larger half of Harvard's two-headed keeper, junior Gresham Bayne, played the two quarters that found Harvard defending the shallow end of the pool. Sophomore Paul Tselentis guarded net in the other two.

Aided by a solid team defensive effort, the two combined to hold a Gaels squad that averages 12.7 goals per game to below its usual output.

"We figured out how to play that pool early, and it proves what a great team we are," Zollei said. "We could have beaten them by a lot more in a normal pool, but overcoming that adversity made it a greater victory for us."

Harvard 10, Brown 7

"These games would have never been close if we played like a team for four quarters," Floerchinger said. "That is the major focus of the last third of our season, and when we solve that issue, we will have the final piece of the puzzle."

Harvard made a six-point turnaround the rest of the way. Zollei led a balanced scoring attack with four goals and three assists. The Crimson broke a 7-7 tie in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with three goals in just under a minute and a half to seal the victory.

"It was extremely important to play a team game," Zollei said. "There have been other games in which we've played sloppier, with everyone looking to score. Here, we played team defense, team offense, a total team game."

Prior to this year, the Crimson hadn't beaten the Bears in several years. Harvard had opened the 2000 preseason with a breakthrough 9-7 victory over the Bears. Saturday's win was the Crimson's first league victory over the Bears since 1992.

"The team really proved its character in that game," Zollei said.

The Crimson got off to a sluggish start, and found itself down 3-0 after the first seven minutes.

"These games would have never been close if we played like a team for four quarters," Floerchinger said. "That is the major focus of the last third of our season, and when we solve that issue, we will have the final piece of the puzzle."

Harvard made a six-point turnaround the rest of the way. Zollei led a balanced scoring attack with four goals and three assists. The Crimson broke a 7-7 tie in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with three goals in just under a minute and a half to seal the victory.

"It was extremely important to play a team game," Zollei said. "There have been other games in which we've played sloppier, with everyone looking to score. Here, we played team defense, team offense, a total team game."

Harvard 19, USMMA 8