With a record of 12-12 going into the Eastern Championship, the women’s water polo team knew it had the opportunity to grab either a winning season or a losing one. Unfortunately for Harvard, the unranked Crimson squad fell in three close contests to No. 7 Michigan (32-6), No. 19 Bucknell (17-10) and Maryland (15-19) to end the year 12-15.

Harvard entered the three-game championship seeded eighth out of eight teams, knowing that a victory over some of the top seeds would propel the Crimson into the NCAA tournament. But while Harvard did improve on last year’s 12-16 record, a win was not in the cards.

“It was kind of hard—we set ourselves up coming in eighth seed,” junior Patty Smith said. “But every single game we did not give up. We put up a really good fight.”

The fight was obvious, with each match ending in a tighter score as the weekend progressed. Although the Crimson could not pull out a win, the team was still proud of the good moments it earned.

“I like to think the weekend will be remembered more for the good things, since it was our last tournament,” Smith said. “We’re looking to hopefully build on what we have now and get ready for a better season next year.”

Additionally, with three-straight losses going into summer and fall training, the team hopes to learn, improve, and be more determined next year.

“It really [is frustrating] to end your season with three losses,” freshman Elise Molnar said. “The thing about losing big games is that people get frustrated, and as they are training they really remember. It pushes people to work harder and push themselves harder so that it doesn’t happen again.”

MARYLAND 12, HARVARD 11

Harvard ended its season yesterday with one of the most impressive goals of the weekend. Trailing with only seconds on the clock, junior goalkeeper Shami Entenman volleyed the ball up to the four Crimson players lined up in front of the Terrapins’ goal. As the ball flew towards the cage, co-captain Kristina Berqquist tipped it in with only two seconds remaining in the game.

“That was a standout moment of the weekend,” Smith said. “It was good to end on a really awesome goal—especially for Kristina to end her last game.”

In addition to Berqquist’s goal, sophomore Devan Kennifer completed a hat trick with her last shot, pulling Harvard within one point in the fourth period. Kennifer was named to the Eastern Championship All-Tournament Second Team after scoring five goals on the weekend.

Sophomore Shannon Purcell and Smith scored two apiece as the Terrapins and Harvard went back and forth, tying the game three times during the match. While Maryland led, 8-6, going into the half, Entenman’s four saves in her first collegiate start as goalie helped the Crimson stay in contention.

“In the Bucknell and Maryland [games], we could have won those games, we should have won those games,” Molnar said. “We just didn’t.”

NO. 19 BUCKNELL 12, HARVARD 10

Saturday’s match was just as tight for Harvard, as the team faced No. 19 Bucknell for the third time this season. The Bison won the first matchup in late February, 9-7, while the Crimson, known for its impressive overtime play, grabbed a 13-12 overtime victory in early March.