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Women’s water polo is on the rise—at Harvard, on the east coast, in the U.S. and in the world. This year, the Harvard women’s water polo team finished with a 24-10 record, recorded nine wins against top-25 teams, and from March 23rd through April 6th, was ranked No. 13 according to CWPA rankings, its highest ranking ever.

Introduced in 1900, men’s water polo was the first modern Olympic team sport. However, it took 100 years for women’s water polo to reach that same status. Women’s water polo was first introduced at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Unlike lacrosse where men and women play with different rules and contact is limited and penalized for women, men and women abide by all the same rules in water polo. Furthermore, because of the full body suits, women are able to play a more physical variation of the game.

“The women have the full suit so there’s much more to grab and hold onto,” the Friends of Harvard Water Polo Head Coach, Ted Minnis, explained.

Although many water polo players enter the sport with a swimming background, water polo is very much a physical, contact sport.

“I feel like water polo is a mix of basketball, handball, and swimming,”freshman attacker Kristen Hong said. “The fluidity of the game is very similar to that of basketball.”

The increase in women’s water polo can be largely attributed to Title IX.

“Title IX has done a very good job of growing the sport of water polo in the U.S. and as a women’s team we’ve medaled in every Olympics,” Minnis said. “In 2012 we won the gold medal, and we’re favored to win it again this year.”

Despite its success over the last two decades on the international scale, U.S. women’s water polo has traditionally been isolated to just California.

Since the NCAA women’s water polo championship was founded in 2001, only Stanford, USC and UCLA have brought home victories. No non-California school has ever participated in the Championship game or won the consolation game.

However, at the age group level, water-polo is expanding rapidly, and at the collegiate level, players are looking at strong programs, such as Harvard, that are located all around the country.

“At the age-group level you’re starting to see pockets growing outside California,” Minnis said. “Florida has a good pocket, Connecticut, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan. It’s great to see.”

In the past six years, Harvard has transformed both its men’s and women’s water polo programs with both teams finishing the year having achieved top-13 rankings this season and completing back-to-back 20-win seasons.

A key to the Crimson’s success has been recruiting top-talent and having athletes who are motivated to work hard and lead.