The Harvard women's water polo team played its best polo of the season this weekend when it hosted the eastern Championships at Blodgett Pool.

But in the end, the Crimson fell just short of its goal of finishing in the top three and qualifying for Nationals.

A 4-2 loss to Princeton on Sunday morning sealed a fourth-place finish, and, consequently, the end of the season for the Crimson.

But it was not a result of a lack of heart. The team gave more than a 100-percent effort. It just couldn't get any breaks.

"I am really proud of our team," sophomore Natasha Magnuson said. "We played our best, and that's all you can ask for. But it was definitely disappointing to lose."

The weekend began on Friday night with a 14-3 trouncing of Brown.

The real competition began on Saturday morning when Harvard faced Villanova. After jumping out to an 8-3 lead, Harvard relaxed a little and took out some of its starters. Villanova went on a 4-0 run, and suddenly Harvard found itself in a frightening position--only ahead by one goal with a minute remaining.

Then, to make matters worse, junior Leslie Bennett was ejected from the game, so Villanova had a one-man advantage for the rest of the contest.

A Harvard player on the perimeter blocked a pass, and the Crimson kept possession for the remainder of the game. Harvard hung on to preserve the 8-7 victory.

After several hours rest, the Crimson returned to the pool to take on the Maryland Terrapins. On April 10, Harvard lost to Maryland 12-2. This time, the result, although still a defeat, was much closer.

Harvard shocked Maryland by jumping out to an early two-goal advantage. However, with one minute remaining, the Terrapins held an 8-7 advantage. Magnuson fired a shot into the net to send the game into overtime.

The two teams traded goals in the first two overtime periods, sending the game into sudden death.

With a Maryland goal, the game was over. But Harvard was not discouraged.

"It didn't get us down," Magnuson said. we were excited about how we played, and it boded well for the night game. We were psyched up and ready to play another game immediately."

Saturday night was a pivotal match for the Crimson. A victory would send them to Davis, Calif., on May 7th for the National Championships. The opponent was Eastern powerhouse UMass, who Harvard had lost to three times previously this season. Most recently, UMass defeated Harvard 12-5 last weekend.