Sophomore Shannon Purcell, shown here in earlier action, scored twice in each of the women’s water polo team’s two wins on Saturday. After falling to No. 5 Michigan, 13-3, yesterday morning, Harvard rebounded with a 10-5 win over George Washington. The Crimson is off to its best start in five years.

For women’s water polo, the Princeton Invitational was a tale of two completely opposite days. The two games played on Saturday, one against Iona and the other against Wagner, were back-and-forth throughout, with Harvard (6-1) coming away with two competitive wins.

In a complete reversal, yesterday’s play featured two blowouts. Against No. 5 Michigan, the Crimson was the victim, but versus George Washington, Harvard easily took the victory.

Finishing the weekend with three wins and matching its win total from its home tournament two weeks ago, Harvard improves to 6-1 for the season—its best start in the last five seasons.

“Last year, we had some of the same situations and couldn’t quite win the games,” sophomore Devan Kennifer said. “This year, we’re a different team.”

The Crimson returns to Princeton next weekend for the ECAC Championships.

“We did a lot of great things...but things get more challenging each successive weekend,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar said.

HARVARD 10, GEORGE WASHINGTON 5

What Michigan did to the Crimson early yesterday morning, Harvard did later in the day to George Washington. The Crimson controlled the game from the first whistle onward, leading, 8-2, going into the fourth quarter.

“The scoring was all over the place against GW,” Farrar said. “It was an overall well-structured, well-balanced attack, and we were successful with it.”

After taking a 2-1 lead to the end of the first quarter, the Crimson led, 5-2, going into halftime. The Colonials were shut out in the third quarter, when Harvard scored three unanswered goals.

As in Saturday’s contest against Wagner, six players split Harvard’s 10 goals. Junior Patricia Smith led the Crimson with three goals in the game, while sophomores Ita Kettleborough-Barton and Kennifer each scored a pair.

NO. 5 MICHIGAN 13, HARVARD 3

“Michigan is obviously a very strong test,” Farrar said the night before the game. “We get a chance to see how good we really are.”

Michigan proved too much for the Crimson to handle, giving Harvard its first loss of the season in a blowout. Though ranked fifth, the Wolverines had three losses coming into the weekend—all against top-10 teams.

“They were very effective in stifling our defense,” Farrar said. “Their national ranking is well-deserved.”

But Harvard improved on its 6-on-5 play from the day before, scoring two goals in its six man-advantage chances. Despite the modest improvement, Farrar was not happy with the overall man-up performance and said that it would be a “key point of emphasis” in the coming week.

The Crimson lost its contest against Michigan last year as well, falling to the Wolverines at home by a score of 13-2.

HARVARD 10, WAGNER 8

Much like the day’s earlier match, Harvard’s defense struggled early against the Seahawks, as the Crimson fell behind, 5-1, after the first quarter.

Harvard shut out Wagner in the second quarter, outscoring it 3-0, and tied the game early in the third quarter.

“It was pretty much a dogfight from there on,” Farrar said.

The Crimson failed to convert on 6-on-5s, going 0-for-8 in the contest.

The Seahawks held a two-goal lead with three minutes to play, but sophomore Monica Zdrojewski scored two goals in the last 2:15 to force an extra period.

In overtime, freshman Elise Molnar scored to give Harvard its first lead of the afternoon, and Kennifer added a second to give the Crimson a two-goal cushion. Six players scored goals in the game, although no Crimson player scored more than two.

“It was a great team effort all around,” Farrar said.

HARVARD 15, IONA 14

Despite allowing six more goals than in any other game this year, the Crimson outscored Iona, 4-2, in the fourth quarter and walked away from the weekend’s first contest with a win.

“We could not find the back of the net...but it was good to know that even if we aren’t at our best, we can still pull out a win,” Kennifer said.

Harvard took nearly 40 shots on goal, with Kennifer scoring five to lead the team.

The Crimson led at the half, but the Killians outscored Harvard, 7-5, in the third quarter. It was not until the fourth quarter that the Crimson could slow down Iona’s offense enough to come away with the one-goal win.

“Iona played a good, scrappy, aggressive kind of game, and they just wouldn’t go away,” Farrar said.