Women's Water Polo 4/24/2025 2:36:00 PM

No. 11 Women's Water Polo Opens CWPA Playoffs Tomorrow

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 11 women's water polo is set to begin the CWPA playoffs tomorrow with its opening round matchup against Mercyhurst at 4:30 p.m. from the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.

If the Crimson was to advance to the second round, they would play at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. All games will be streamed this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.

WHAT TO KNOW

The No. 11 Crimson looks to advance to the CWPA Championship game for the third time in four seasons.
Harvard finished the season as regular-season co-champions and slotted into the second seed of the CWPA tournament after posting a 10-2 conference record.
Harvard split the regular season with the other top seeds in Princeton and Michigan in the regular season.
Harvard cruised to victories over Mercyhurst in its two meetings this season after beating Mercyhurst 20-2 at Blodgett and 20-3 in another conference weekend in New Jersey.
Heidi Heffelfinger also took home CWPA weekly honors this week after being named CWPA Player of the Week after a five-goal game against Iona.
The Crimson took home seven CWPA awards, the conference announced yesterday.
Niki Piovan was named CWPA Rookie of the Year, while Ted Minnis earned his third CWPA Coach of the Year award after leading the Crimson to its first-ever regular season title.
Piovan finished the season as a force on both ends of the pool, netting 53 goals, adding 43 assists, and leading the team with 41 steals. A three-time CWPA Rookie of the Week, Piovan's 96 points mark the highest total by a Crimson rookie since at least 2020.
She joins Maya O'Dea as the only current Crimson players to receive CWPA Rookie of the Year honors.
Minnis led Harvard through one of its most successful campaigns to date, clinching the program's first-ever regular season title with a 10-2 conference record and a 23-6 overall mark. The Crimson began the season 6-1, notching wins over No. 25 LIU, No. 19 Wagner, No. 15 UCSB, No. 13 Princeton, No. 11 UCSD, No. 16 Michigan, No. 23 CBU, and No. 22 Brown.
One of the best starts in program history, Minnis also picked up his 250th career win in a 15-9 victory over Brown on March 8.
Harvard climbed as high as No. 7 in the national rankings — the highest in program history — and is now just one win shy of tying the single-season win record set by the 2016 team (24-10).
Emma Gilbert and Niki Piovan were also named to the CWPA First Team, while Orli Cooper, Ruby Hodge, and Maya O'Dea earned Second Team honors.
Gilbert was an offensive standout for the Crimson, finishing the regular season with 74 goals and 22 assists. Leading the team in goals for the second consecutive year, the sophomore earned one CWPA weekly honor and tied for second on the team in total points (96). She now sits just seven goals away from breaking the program's single-season goals record.
Cooper was stellar in net throughout her rookie campaign, breaking the program's single-season record for saves with 316 heading into the postseason. The North Carolina native earned five CWPA Defensive Player of the Week honors this season.
Ruby Hodge led the team in overall scoring, finishing with 37 goals and a program-record 66 assists. She surpassed the previous assist record with her 57th assist just two weeks ago, capping off one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory for the Crimson.
Last year's CWPA Rookie of the Year, Maya O'Dea, earned a Second Team selection after another impressive season. She finished second on the team in goals with 45+ and recorded a career-high 20 assists.