For a few hours this weekend, the Harvard men’s water polo squad had earned a winning record. After defeating Pomona-Pitzer its opening game of the Claremont Convergence, the Crimson was 5-4. It was the first time since the season opener Harvard had been above .500.

But its roller coaster ride of wins and losses continued as the weekend progressed, with the Crimson dropping three of its final four contests, including a 13-7 loss to No. 9 Pepperdine in its final game on the west coast, leaving its record at 6-7 for the season.

Senior co-captain Rick Offsay led the Crimson, scoring 15 of the team’s 35 goals throughout the five games.

PEPPERDINE 13, HARVARD 7

In its most decisive loss of the weekend, the Crimson fell Sunday despite early inklings Harvard might be able to produce enough offense to win.

Offsay was out and running early, scoring three goals in the first period to give the Crimson a two-goal lead.

“I was able to get a couple quick goals at two-meters,” Offsay said. “But then they got their defense squared away.”

The Waves wised up to Harvard’s strategy and began to cover Offsay more closely, holding the Crimson to just four goals for the remainder of the game—one from Offsay, two from sophomore Mike Garcia and one from co-captain Mike Gerrity.

Garcia also tallied three steals during the game.

HARVARD 8, LA VERNE 7

In its second nail-biting game Saturday, the Crimson pushed the game into overtime against the Leopards. Only this time, driven by a defeat earlier against Santa Clara, Harvard would not allow itself to lose, prevailing 8-7.

“We kept fighting back and were able to do what we couldn’t do in the morning,” Offsay said.

The odds were stacked against the Crimson, which had played a tense game into double overtime and lost earlier that morning, whereas La Verne was coming into the game fully rested.

Sophomore John Voith scored the go-ahead goal—his second of the contest—to open the overtime frame, and though Garcia was relatively quiet during the game, he notched the team’s final score, to put Harvard up 8-6.

At the end of the game, the Leopards were able to put the ball in the net, but it was too late for it to overcome the Crimson’s two-goal lead. Offsay scored twice in the game, while Gerrity and Greg Marvin-Smith netted one goal each.