One year ago the Harvard men's water polo team believed that the end of its rebuilding period was drawing near. After suffering through a seemingly endless string of sub-.500 seasons, Coach Don Benson '88 finally began to see daylight with the dawn of the 1997 campaign.

For the first time in his three years at the Crimson helm, Benson began preseason workouts not only in the wake of a respectable season (15-8), but with a full roster. Looking out into the pool, he couldn't help but smile as he watched junior All-American Mike Zimmerman whip a warm-up blast into the upper corner of the net, or senior goalie Ed Chen knock a shot to the wayside.

Zimmerman, who had tallied a school record 101 goals the previous year, looked bigger and stronger after a summer of training with the national team.

Record: 10-18, 3-1 EWPA

Coach: Don Benson '88

Seniors: Ed Chen, Andy Davis, Marty Edlund, Joe Villa

Surrounding Zimmerman and Chen were seniors Andy Davis, Joe Villa and Marty Edlund, who looked perfectly comfortable alongside six new freshmen faces, most of whom towered over six feet, giving Harvard some much-needed size.

Benson laughed easily back then and even joked about the prospect of bringing his newborn child--who was due in less than a month--to Blodgett Pool for a few of the games.

Ten months later, after a 10-18 season which included an unprecedented loss to club-team equivalent MIT, however, the laughter has left the Harvard waters and Benson is gone.

Splattered with untimely injuries and undeniable growing pains, this past year was a mix of surprise and disappointment that was capped off when Benson stepped down as head coach following the team's 7-5 loss to Brown at the Eastern Qualifying Tournament.

"It came as a shock when he told us [at the end of the season], but at the same time we weren't surprised," said Chen of Benson, who exited Harvard in order to spend time with his new family. "As for the season, we couldn't put a finger on what was wrong for the longest time. We were working hard and we had a lot of talent, and it came as a shock that we were losing all those games."

Offense was never the problem--at least it wasn't supposed to be. With Zimmerman positioned at the 2-meter spot, Edlund and Davis filled out the attack as utility men. And as opposed to the previous season, when the team had only 13 players, the newly acquired depth on the Harvard roster allowed for a more explosive and penetrating counter-attack.

"When you know that a guy can come off the bench and you won't lose a step, it just makes you push it even harder on the counter-attack," Davis said. "Last year it was seven guys going seven minutes for four quarters, and it was just too difficult."

Despite the added firepower, Harvard dropped its first game of the season to Massachusetts, 4-16. A win against Iona in which the Crimson tallied a season-high 22 goals was quickly overshadowed by the losing streak waiting in the wings. Beginning with a 6-10 loss to Brown on Sept. 18, Harvard embarked on a seven-game winless string that included the embarrassing 10-11 defeat at the hands of the Engineers.

On that evening, Harvard endured one of its most disturbing losses in the program's history, one which Zimmerman labeled "the worst of them all."