The Harvard men's water polo team opens play at the Eastern Championships in Annapolis, Md., today on perhaps its highest pyschological note of the year.

"We really want to win," junior Pete Kaiser said. "The whole team is psyched."

The Crimson has several reasons to be enthusiastic about the tournament. The first is the return of Coach Chris Hafferty, who spent Wednesday night in the hospital after being knocked unconscious by high-voltage wires in the ceiling above Blodgett Pool.

Hafferty is now in good condition, and will accompany the team south. "The coach's coming back was a real pysch," said Tri-Captain Bill Wolff.

Another "pysch" for Harvard is the possibility of earning a national ranking with an impressive showing this weekend.

But the Crimson's path to glory is blocked by an imposing obstacle--the Navy water polo team. Harvard is seeded eight in the eight-team tournament, and thus must face the top-seeded Cadets in the opening round.

If the Crimson loses, it will probably face fifth-seeded Richmond in the consolation round. A victory in the consolation contest might help Harvard gain the national recognition it has yet to receive this year.

But a loss to Navy is not a foregone conclusion. Although the Cadets are ranked in the Top-10 nationally, the Crimson played an impressive match against them last month at Brown. Navy won, 12-6, but Harvard battled the victors to a 5-5 tie in the second half.

"We're ready to go," insisted goalie Don Benson. "We'll give them a real tough game. We have nothing to lose."

Nothing to lose but their hair, that is.

Taking a page from world-class swimmers, several team members have gotten haircuts and shaved their body hair so they can glide through the water more easily.

"You feel like a snake," Wolff said. "The water slides off you so you get constantly pysched.

"The whole team got haircuts," continued Wolff, who shaved his locks for the first time since May. "We're all a bunch of clean-cut preppies now. It's kind of hilarious."

THE NOTEBOOK: The All-New England team has been named, and several Harvard players were picked. Benson, after being chosen to the second team last season in his sophomore year, was named to the first team, as was Ben Elizondo. Fred Scherrer was placed on the second team, and Wade Stokes earned an honorable mention. "I worked pretty hard this year and I had the team behind me to get me motivated," Benson said....Last year at Easterns Navy was favored to win, but was upset in the early rounds.