Wait 'til next year.

Once again that bitter phrase will have to be the motto of the Harvard men's water polo team (12-19, 5-6 CWPA). After a frustrating, injury-plagued 1997 campaign, the Crimson entered the 1998 season expecting to make a splash during the regular season and at the East Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.

With a new coach and a fresh perspective in first-year skipper Jim Floerchinger, and the re-entrenchment of a healthy Mike Zimmerman at the 2-meter spot, a return to the form that brought the team a 15-8 season and earned Zimmerman All-America accolades in 1996 seemed well within reach.

No one counted on a season-ending injury to freshman goalie Gresham Bayne before the opener, forcing sophomore driver Josh Bliesath into net. Although Bliesath improved dramatically as the season progressed, it took an entire year for Harvard to recover from its early-season woes.

The Crimson dropped six of its first seven contests and remained plagued by inconsistency for the entire regular season. Harvard managed to close the year on an up note, finishing fifth at the Northern Division Tournament despite being seeded eighth, but success for this team came too late and not often enough.

A 2-3 road trip to California late in the season seemed to sum up the Crimson's 1998 campaign. Harvard played superbly in a win over Chapman, and turned in a serviceable overall effort in a one-point win over LaVerne, but suffered numerous defensive lapses in losses to Pomona and George Washington.

"It seemed as if we fielded two teams," said Bliesath after the trip. "When we came out ready to play, we won. At other times, it was as if we didn't even show up."

To the Crimson's credit, the "ready to play" team emerged more and more as the season advanced. After recording just one win--over Iona, where the proof is in the people--in the first seven games of the season, the team went on to win three of its next four.

Included in the string of wins was an 11-6 road victory over Fordham, which had beaten Harvard in the second game of the season. It seemed a sure sign of a ship on the cusp of being steered in the right direction.