Crimson Looks for Fresh Start in N.J.

For a team looking to find its stride after a difficult opening weekend, the ideal schedule would be a slate of easy contests to build up confidence. Unfortunately for Harvard men’s water polo, the squad doesn’t have that luxury.

The Crimson (0-3) will travel to Denunzio Pool in Princeton, N.J. this weekend hoping to establish itself at the Princeton Invitational after three straight losses to open the season.

But Harvard will have a tremendously talented field—including five teams in the Collegiate Water Polo Association preseason top 20—standing in its way. As the Crimson prepares for match-ups with No. 11 Princeton, No. 16 Santa Clara, George Washington, and Northern Division foe Fordham, the team knows it faces a challenge, but welcomes the test.

“Our team is very fired up for all four of these games,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar said. “We’ve got four great games and we’re playing all of them to win.”

In order to do so, the Crimson must revamp its offense, which struggled last weekend.

In particular, players cited a lack of variety in the Harvard attack, but Farrar insisted that issue is in the past.

“It’s a natural part of the process [that] early in the season you’re putting things in along the way,” Farrar said. “We’ve…added additional options on offense that should make it more effective.”

Any offensive wrinkles the Crimson introduces will likely hinge on junior co-captain Bret Voith, who has emerged as the squad’s preeminent scoring threat. Voith enjoyed a breakout season in 2008—earning the “Coaches’ Award”—and has continued to look sharp this season, as he leads the team with four goals. But the co-captain has worked to do more than put the ball in the net, making it a personal goal to help Harvard reassert its team identity.

“I’m looking to reestablish who we are in the conference and who we are as a team,” Voith said. “Playing these high-level teams, the key is proving to ourselves that we can play with them and that we can be one of those teams.”

For the Crimson to achieve its goals, perhaps no contest is more important than the Saturday match-up with the Rams of Fordham, who bested Harvard twice last season by scores of 14-6 and 10-8 and created a considerable rivalry in the process.

“If I had to pick one game to blow somebody out this weekend, it would be Fordham,” co-captain Egen Atkinson said. “They left me with a bad taste after last year and I think everyone on the team shares that sentiment.”

While the Rams (1-3) represent an important test for the Crimson to gauge its competitiveness within the division, the team will not overlook its other games against quality opponents. Before taking on Fordham and Santa Clara on Saturday, Harvard will face Friday contests against the Colonials (2-2) and the Tigers (0-0), both of whom represent conference playoff contenders.

“It’s always fun to play Southern Division teams like GW and Ivy-rival Princeton,” Farrar said. “It brings out the best in both squads and I’m looking forward to great competition. These teams are stones on which we can sharpen our edge.”

The head coach also noted that Harvard may have more than one axe to grind this weekend, adding, “The last time we played GW they defeated us for third in the Eastern Championships, and we’d like to return the favor.”

With emotions running high, the Crimson will rely on its veterans to maintain composure in the pool. Atkinson and junior Jeff Lee have provided a strong presence on offense, tallying three goals apiece last weekend, while senior Nikhil Balaraman has been steady in goal.

Balaraman and sophomore Alex Popp have proven to be a bright spot for Harvard between the pipes, averaging over seven saves per contest. But the pair will have to be on its game throughout the tournament, as the Crimson expects to see a barrage of different offensive attacks—particularly from a Princeton team that has yet to compete in 2009.

“We’ll see a lot of different things this weekend, because the teams we play have different styles,” Atkinson explained. “Princeton has some specific plays that work well for them and GW runs a very mobile offense, so we’ll get experience…which will be valuable down the stretch once divisional play begins.”

Harvard knows that this experience may come at a price, as powerhouse teams at the invitational could deal disheartening blows to the emerging squad. But with a new offensive scheme and a strong pair of goalies, Harvard could be successful if the team channels the emotion of its rivalries into disciplined competition.

“[Our opponents] are all strong teams, but there are definitely some teams we can beat,” Farrar said. “Whoever makes the fewest mistakes is going to win.”

If the Crimson can work its way to a couple of victories, the squad will have taken the first meaningful step towards establishing its identity.

“[In the past] we haven’t proven that we’re one of those [elite] teams,” Voith said. “But that’s what we want to do, starting this weekend.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.