The Harvard women’s water polo team ended its 2002 campaign with a 2-2 record, good for seventh place, at the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s Eastern Championships in Princeton, N.J. last weekend.

Harvard (14-12), the No. 6 seed, began with a 9-6 loss to No. 3 Princeton on Friday before rebounding with a 6-4 victory over tenth-seeded Bucknell to finish “Bracket D” competition in second place.

The Crimson then advanced to the second round, where it came up short against rival UMass-Amherst in a tough 7-5 decision. However, Harvard bounced back once again, this time defeating No. 8 George Washington 8-2.

“It was a good tournament, and we played very well as a group,” Harvard Coach Jim Floerchinger said. “We were capable of beating all of the teams we played, and there were five or six teams that could’ve won the tournament. That sort of parity is fun.”

With a very young nucleus and only two seniors on this year’s team, both Floerchinger and his players are optimistic for the future of the Crimson program.

“The core of this team is pretty young,” he said. “It’s encouraging to return both of our all-league players.”

“We’re looking really strong,” added junior Tiana Peterson. “We have a strong freshman class, and we gained lots of experience at this tournament. We have a lot of talent, and we’re really psyched about our potential.”

If the Crimson had come out on top of what was billed as a very competitive 12-team field, Harvard would have made the NCAA Final Four in Los Angeles, Calif., with an automatic bid.

That honor, however, went to top-seeded Michigan. No. 2 Hartwick took the Wolverines to sudden-death overtime in the championship game before Michigan’s Jen Crisman scored with 31 seconds left, giving the Wolverines the 7-6 win and their first-ever trip to the Final Four.

Harvard 8, George Washington 2

Freshman twins Teresa and Tina Codini combined for five goals in Sunday’s game against the Colonials, providing plenty of support for sophomore goalie Elana Miller and the rest of the Crimson defense.

Harvard’s two seniors, co-captain Christine Meiers and Jill Ono, each scored goals in their final collegiate game.

“The best performances came from our seniors,” Peterson said. “This was their last tournament, and Christine and Jill played great. It was great to see.”

Junior Jane Humphries rounded out the scoring for Harvard with her third goal of the weekend.

Miller stopped eight shots in the victory and did not allow a goal in the flow of play. The Colonials fell behind 8-0 before converting two penalty shots in the fourth quarter.