Men’s Water Polo Heads to California for Claremont Convergence

Photo of the Harvard men's water polo team, courtesy of Gil Talbot.

The Harvard men’s water polo team travels to California to take part in the Claremont Convergence Oct. 2-3. The Crimson will play four games over the weekend, including two games against teams ranked in the national poll.

About Harvard:
The Crimson heads into the weekend with a 4-8 overall record and tied for first place with Brown in the CWPA Northern Division with a 2-0 conference record. Harvard won its previous two contests, beating Connecticut College, 15-5, at the ECAC Championships and Queens (N.Y.), 12-7, in a Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division game.

Co-captains senior Egen Atkinson and junior Bret Voith lead the team in scoring with 15 goals each. Junior Alex Thompson has added 14 tallies on the season. Sophomore Alexandre Popp has stopped 61 shots on the season.

Freshman Max Eliot was tabbed the CWPA Northern Division Rookie of the Week for the second time this season and the COOP Student-Athlete of the Week for his five-goal performance against Queens Sept. 26.

The Opposition:
Harvard will take on two teams over the weekend in the national rankings, No. 14 Concordia and No. 20 California Baptist on Saturday. The Crimson will also face Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer on Friday at the Claremont Convergence. Concordia comes in carrying a 13-2 record, only losing games to UCLA and UC-San Diego. The Eagles began the season winning its first nine games. Concordia has significant wins over Navy, Pacific, Air Force and Whittier.

No. 20 California Baptist boasts a 10-2 record coming into the event. The Lancers only defeats have been a pair of 7-8 losses to St. Francis (N.Y.) and Air Force. Cal Baptist has victories over Occidental, Whittier and Chapman this season. Aaron Steiger paces the Lancers with 27 goals and Tommy Hunter has added 11 scores and 12 assists.

Pomona-Pitzer, one of three host institutions, enters the tournament with a 4-10 record, winning their previous two games over Fresno Pacific and Iona. The Sagehens’ have also picked up victories against Cal Lutheran and Chapman.

Chapman has posted a 3-8 record with wins against Cal Tech and La Verne twice. The Panthers came up just short against Whittier, Pomona-Pitzer and Fresno Pacific.

Up Next:
The Crimson will host three CWPA Northern Division opponents in a four-day span. Harvard will play Connecticut College (Oct. 8), Brown (Oct. 10) and Iona (Oct. 11).