Women's Water Polo Closes Record Season at CWPA Championship Tournament

Finishing with the most wins in a single season would be an impressive feat. Adding having the record set for goals in a season by a rookie and the winningest senior class in program, and the recipe is primed for success.

Coach Ted Minnis had nothing but words of praise for his team before the CWPA Div I/II Championship Tournament, hosted at Blodgett Pool this weekend, was even over.

“This is the best team that Harvard women’s water polo has ever had,” Minnis said.

The No. 18 Crimson (24-10) can now add a sixth-place finish at the year-end tournament to its 2016 resume.

Harvard opened the tournament with a loss to No. 17 Princeton (19-7) before defeating Connecticut College (15-9) and George Washington (8-19). With a fifth-place finish on the line, however, the injury-plagued Crimson fell in its season-finale to No. 20 Bucknell (18-5), by four goals, to settle for a sixth-place finish.

“We didn’t really have any extra field-player subs, [but] the team really stepped up and gave it our all,” sophomore attacker Sami Strutner said. “Even the though this weekend might not have turned out the way we wanted it to, it doesn’t define our season. We had a great season.”

BUCKNELL 11, HARVARD 7

Senior attacker Eleanor Marrs and sophomore utility Marta Considine led the Bison with a pair of hat tricks to down a depleted Crimson team, 11-7, to close out the season on Sunday morning.

“They do a great job,” Minnis said. “They’re well coached. They subbed early and later on in the game, they got some counter-goals and we just didn’t have any gas left to swim with them.”

Several of Harvard’s key players were unable to enter the pool, giving the Crimson only seven field players to work with at one point.

“I’m super proud of the way our team has been able to play this weekend, with the circumstances of so many people being out,” said captain Yoshi Andersen, playing her final game with Harvard. “Everybody who was able to play was playing with so much heart. People who weren’t able to play were so supportive.”

Freshman attacker Kristen Hong led the Crimson with a hat trick, while senior attacker Charlotte Hendrix tacked on a pair.

Hong’s 12-goal weekend upped her season total to 80 goals, setting a program record.

Hendrix, Andersen, and senior attacker Rachel Lobato leave Blodgett with 77 wins as a class, also a program record.

“I couldn’t ask for two better classmates to spend [my four years] with,” Andersen said. “Definitely, I’m leaving feeling very grateful for everything that’s happened since I’ve been here.”

HARVARD 11, GEORGE WASHINGTON 6

Hong and Hendrix replicated exactly their performances from just hours prior by scoring four goals each to help the Crimson to an 11-6 victory over George Washington (8-19).

After facing an early 1-0 deficit less than a minute in, Harvard pulled back to lead 2-1 after one quarter and never looked back.

Sophomore utility Scarlet Hallahan led the way for the Colonials with two goals. Andersen tacked on a pair on the other end of the pool to help the Crimson advance to the fifth-place game against Bucknell.

HARVARD 13, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE 3

Up against the lowest-ranked team, Harvard put on a clinic in the first half, snapping the back of the net eight times for an 8-1 halftime lead. The Crimson slowed down in the second half, running down the entire shot clock on several of its possessions, to walk away with a 13-3 victory over Connecticut College (15-9) and keep its hopes alive for a fifth-place finish.

Hong and Hendrix led the way with four goals apiece for Harvard, while in the absence of enough field-player subs, backup freshman goalie Sam Acker entered the game and tallied a goal. Sophomore Cleo Harrington made 17 stops in between the pipes.

The Camels, by virtue of being the 2016 CWPA Div III Champions, its third straight title, played into the tournament as the ninth and lowest seed.

PRINCETON 12, HARVARD 8

Harvard opened the tournament with yet another shot at breaking its 23-game losing streak to defending CWPA champion No. 17 Princeton (19-7).

The Tigers outscored the Crimson 3-2 in both of the first two quarters, taking a 6-4 halftime lead. Despite the close score, Princeton charged out of the break with a string of goals in the third to put a dent into Harvard’s hopes. Led by sophomore attacker Haley Wan’s hat trick, Princeton upped its lead to 11-5 in the fourth quarter to ice its 24th straight win over its CWPA rivals.

The Crimson tallied three straight to make it interesting in the fourth, but the Tigers held on to win, 12-8.

Andersen led Harvard with three goals, including two straight that re-energized the team in the fourth quarter, while Strutner and freshman attacker Nikki Daurio each contributed a pair.

The final minutes also featured an unusual call. A goal by Daurio with 4:17 to go in the game, which would have made the score 11-8 and kept the comeback momentum rolling, was waived off after the officials granted Princeton a timeout.

A chorus of boos was heard from the home crowd, but Minnis downplayed the issue of the Tigers not having possession when calling the timeout.