Junior Cristina Codini netted a pair against George Washington on Saturday to power Harvard’s 5-4 win.

After an exhausted Harvard women’s water polo team limped into last place at the ECAC championships three weeks ago, the Collegiate Water Polo Association seeded the club 10th in the 12-team field at the Eastern Championships in Lewisburg, Pa.

That turned out to be a gross underestimation.

The Crimson (20-13) turned in a 3-1 weekend, falling only to the eventual champion Hartwick en route to a fifth-place finish.

Harvard knocked off seventh-seeded Iona in the opening round on Friday, setting up the meeting with second-seeded and No. 13 Hartwick. After the Hawks pulled away to a 10-5 victory on Saturday, the Crimson registered a dramatic comeback to knock off the six-seed, George Washington.

Harvard capped off the weekend with a 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded and No. 18 Princeton yesterday to take home a fifth-place finish. The five-position improvement over its original seeding was the biggest shift of any team in the tournament.

Crimson junior two-meter Teresa Codini, who led Harvard with seven goals on the weekend, was named to the All-Tournament Second Team.

HARVARD 6, PRINCETON 2

It was a satisfying end to a weekend of redemption.

The Tigers (24-9) dominated the Crimson at the Princeton Invitational earlier this season, shutting down Harvard’s attack for an 8-2 victory.

What a difference two months can make.

The Crimson scored two goals in each period of the first half, while allowing

Princeton just one total to take a 4-1 lead into halftime.

Harvard spent the second half focused on its defensive intensity as it held the Tigers scoreless into the fourth quarter before Princeton managed to tally its only goal of the half.

“The biggest difference between the two games [this season] was our defense,” Harvard coach Scott Russell said. “The way we played defense today was fantastic, especially since Princeton is a high-scoring team.”

The Crimson added two scores of its own in the fourth to claim a 6-2 win and a fifth-place finish.