Rookie coach Mike Freed likes to talk. The former political press secretary turned men's water polo coach knows how to put the right spin on every event, and after his team's surprisingly successful first weekend, it's no wonder he's doing a lot of talking. A lot.

"I think this is the one of the best first weekends Harvard water polo has ever had," Freed proclaimed after his team swept three of four contests at the Harvard-hosted Eastern League tournament.

Enunciating each phrase perfectly, Freed explained why his team was able to defeat Villanova, Iona and Boston College: "We played very well together. We were communicating. We played good defense. I think we are definitely a better team [after the weekend]."

There is, however, one hole in Freed's assessment. Harvard failed, once again, to make the move to the top of the Eastern rankings that it wanted. Though it handily disposed of its other opponents, the Crimson, currently ranked 21st in the country, lost to 19th-ranked Navy Sunday, keeping Harvard behind the Midshipmen (and the Brown Bears) in the standings.

Defensive Errors

Harvard did come closer than it ever has to beating Navy. The Crimson lost 16-11, primarily because of a series of defensive errors in the second quarter that put Harvard behind 10-4.

"Our defense wasn't as strong as we thought it was. We just made some dumb mistakes," Co-Captain Chad Barker said.

Those "mistakes" gave Navy a number of man-up opportunities. Eleven goals in all came off the power-play.

Freed thinks Harvard's problems can be corrected with more practice and more game experience, and he certainly has cause for hope. The Crimson, despite a brief scare against Villanova in the opening game Saturday afternoon, played with poise and composure for most of the weekend.

Co-Captain Mason Ford fired in three goals in the Crimson's 11-10 victory over Villanova, while Mather blockmates Jeff Zimmerman and Erik Atkisson each collected three in a 14-8 trouncing of Iona later that day.

After the setback against Navy Sunday, Harvard tossed in its reserves, including a backup goalie, to squash Boston College, 17-8. Zimmerman collected five goals and Barker four.

"We knew we should beat BC by a considerable amount. In the past, Harvard has tended to let down after a big game. But even though we had a tough game in the morning, everyone kept their composure," Barker said.

Positive Note

The easy BC game certainly ended the weekend on a positive note, and the team's expectations are running high.

It has been a while since Harvard has started the season 3-1, and players are optimistic that the Crimson will be able to meet its next challenge: Brown, Thursday night at Blodgett Pool.

Harvard must clear up its defensive problems if it hopes to come close to beating Brown, traditionally one of the most dominant teams in the East.

Freed, for his part, is giving the team loads of motivational advice, offering up this somewhat bizarre prediction:

"For years, Brown's been the Joker to our Batman. Now the joke's going to be on them when they come to Blodgett."

Words of wisdom indeed.