The Harvard women's water polo team knew going into last weekend's CWPA Eastern Championships in Maryland that the road to Southern California would be tough. Awaiting the top three finishers at Easterns was a trip to the National Championships at USC.

With tough losses to Villanova, Maryland and Slippery Rock, however, Harvard (15-9) finished in sixth place overall, making Easterns the last tournament of what remains a successful season for the Crimson and first-year Coach Sachi Gahan '94.

"We're all happy about our overall effort," said sophomore Katherine Hodge. "We played very hard across the board. It was unfortunate that there were a few lapses, but that doesn't detract from the overall effort."

Indeed if the ball had bounced just a little differently in the Crimson's losses this weekend, the result could have been much different.

Harvard opened the tournament on Friday night with a blowout win over a weak Queens College squad.

"It was an eight-hour trip, so we were feeling a little stiff and a little flat," Hodge said. "[But] we didn't have to play our best to beat them."

The win earned Harvard a date with Villanova the following morning, the same team the Crimson beat narrowly, 11-10, at the Princeton Invitational in February. Although the Crimson led for most of the game, it was unable to tame the Wildcats and suffered a two-point loss.

The loss was especially devastating because, with powerhouse UMass likely to plug up the top spot in the tournament, second and third place was likely to be a dogfight between several teams, including Harvard.

"We didn't play consistently against Villanova," Hodge said. "It was a lapse in concentration that didn't have to happen."

What the loss did, however, was light a fire under the team for its big game against Maryland on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson lost to the Terrapins, 12-9, early in the season, but the team took a new offensive strategy and a renewed intensity into its postseason matchup.

"We were all pretty pumped after the loss to Villanova and we wanted to show Maryland a thing or two," Hodge said. "It was one of the best games we've played as a team this season."

Unfortunately the Terps proved too strong, as they won a tight game and effectively took the Crimson out of the running for a top-three spot.

Harvard's own version of Super Saturday was not over, however. An evening match with Brown remained, but the Crimson quickly dispatched of the Bears, topping their Ivy League rival for the fourth time this season.

All that was left for the Cantabs was a Sunday game against Slippery Rock, a former women's water polo powerhouse whose star has been slowly fading over the years. Harvard matched the Rock goal for goal over the first three quarters, and the score was knotted at seven entering the fourth.

But Slippery Rock solved the Crimson's new offense, scoring seven unanswered goals to beat Harvard 14-7 and take fifth place at the Tournament. UMass, Maryland and Princeton took the top three spots.

But the lesson for Harvard may not be: Play better next time, and earn a trip to California. A relatively young program under a new coach came a few goals away from playing for the national title. So for the Crimson, there is little shame in sixth place.

"I'm not disappointed," Hodge said. "I'm proud of the way our team played. Making Nationals is not the important thing. This year has been about showing that Harvard is a force to be reckoned with in the coming years."