Call it March Badness.

The Harvard women's water polo team has hit the softer portion of its schedule, and it showed over the weekend.

The No. 18 Crimson swept past four opponents in a College Water Polo Association New England meet hosted by Connecticut College. The tournament began with matches against Bates, Wesleyan and host Connecticut College on Saturday. The team concluded an unbeaten weekend against Middlebury yesterday.

The results of the matches themselves were of little consequence. Harvard was heavily favored against each of its opponents. The Crimson is currently one of the few Eastern powers in what is predominantly a West Coast sport. By contrast, none of this weekend's opponents came close to being ranked in the latest National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Poll.

Many of the teams at the New England divisional meet, including Crimson victim Connecticut College, are in their water polo programs' maiden voyages. Connecticut College's major selling point on the weekend was not as much its team as the first tournament hosted in its new state-of-the-art facility. Gordon Natatorium features a separate shallow warm-up area in addition to its all-deep-water polo section.

For the Crimson, the entire weekend was a warm-up. Each game was essentially over by the end of the first quarter. The fact that the games were not close, as well as the rigorous four-game weekend, resulted in many of the team's reserves receiving ample playing time.

Although many of those in the water for Harvard had not played much earlier in the year, the victories were never in doubt.

"We did well," tri-captain Angela Munoz said. "Everyone who doesn't get to play a whole lot did exactly what they had to do."