The Harvard women's water polo team is hoping to convince people that water polo is no longer just a West Coast sport.

Teams such as California-Santa Barbara and California-San Diego have long dominated women's collegiate water polo. However, the Crimson is improving, generating more interest and even gaining national attention.

Captains: Leslie Barbi, Lynley Ogilvie and Eileen Pratt

Current Record: 3-0

Home Pool: Blodgett Pool

This year an all-time high of more than 30 women came out for the team. The Athletic Department limits the team roster to 25 and so cuts had to be made for the first time ever.

"[Turning people away] was the worst thing I ever had to do as a coach," Harvard Coach Chris Hafferty said. "It was personally depressing to me to have to cut people who are willing to learn, work hard, and make a commitment to the sport."

Tryouts for the squad were a little different than for most other sports. It was not simply a matter of evaluating how well someone can shoot or if they can play tough defense. It was the task of measuring untapped potential.

"No one on the team played before college," Tri-Captain Eileen Pratt said. "This is unusual because most people in other sports here have played at least since freshman year in high school."

Most of the women on the team have strong swimming backgrounds and have simply decided to try something new. Teaching these newcomers the game of water polo is one of the things Hafferty does and enjoys most.

"They don't come in with any bad habits," Hafferty said.

The Harvard women appear to be very fast learners. In a pre-season poll conducted by the United States Water Polo Scoreboard Magazine, Harvard was ranked 10th out of the 46 colleges with varsity teams. The Crimson was dubbed "the team of the future in the East."

In the past, most of the practice time was spent on learning the basics. Ball skills and shooting were top priority. But, this year the Crimson has lost only one starter and has a good core of veteran players.

Coming back for the Crimson are two excellent two-meter players, Tri-Captain Lynley Ogilvie and senior Emily Ozer, as well as Stacey Moran, an excellent driver.

"They were stellar last year and we expect them to be strong again," Tri-Captain Leslie Barbi said.