Water Polo

Coach Chris Haferty has the unenviable job of repeating a 17-7 1987 season without six starters who have graduated.

"Last year was a big year for us because after years of getting blown out by the water polo powers in the east," Haferty said, "we were in games at halftime with the likes of Brown and Bucknell."

However, the missing characters from last year's squad include the two goalies. Second Team All-Ivy pick Don Benson has graduated and Greg Beber is taking the year off. Scott Freiwing and John Greco are butting heads for the starting goalie spot.

Replacing hole setter Bill Wolff probably will be either Co-Captain Eric Bentley or John Marshall, though both lack the size of Wolff.

Joe Kaufman, Nick Branca, Andy Freed and John Griffin, who is returning from a two-year stint as a missionary, are all expected to contribute.

"It's tough to get back into shape after two years," Haferty said, "but Griffin's a hard-worker and we expect him to be able to help us a lot by the middle of the season."

Co-Captain Steve Dodge is not expected to play for the squad after suffering a debilitating back injury during the summer.

"It won't be easy for us because we are going to be facing teams that have been practicing for three or four weeks," Haferty said, "while we've only been practicing for three or four days."

Volleyball

That was then, this is now.

That is the attitude the Harvard women's volleyball team is taking into the upcoming season.

Harvard is coming off its best year ever, finishing in third place in the Ivy League and winning a club record 18 games. The Crimson was two points short of reaching the finals of the Ivy tournament.

But that was then, this is now.

Harvard enters the season under third-year Coach Wayne Lem, who has developed his own Lem magic. Lem has turned a program that was going nowhere fast into one of the top programs in the Ivy League.