This year, No. 16 Navy eked out a 6-5 victory over Princeton to assume the top spot in the South.

Although it has struggled against Princeton, the Crimson has already beaten Navy this year. A one-point win at the North-South Invitational on October 1 keyed Harvard's 11-game win streak.

"There's something to be said about going in against someone you know you can play," Floerchinger said. "Regardless of how it turns out, it's the best thing that could've happened."

If the Crimson can duplicate its dramatic upset of Navy at Easterns, it will set up a pivotal second-round contest against the No. 13 UMass Minutemen.

UMass drubbed Harvard for the third time this year at Northerns, 12-2. Harvard scored the first and last goals but the Minutemen dominated in between. UMass controlled the game's outcome with a vacillating pace that they're generally better suited to.

However, the Crimson did not give up a single point in the halfcourt. If Harvard can somehow keep the emphasis of the next game game away from UMass' lethal counterattack, Harvard could pull off the greatest upset in its history and clinch a spot in the Big Dance.

It would be an appropriate ending to a breakthrough season for a team that hardly goes recognized.

You probably won't ever see a water polo player's picture here as Athlete of the Week. Floerchinger likes to point out that whenever one guy is doing all the scoring, something's probably wrong.