CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's water polo is set to head to California this weekend for the first of two trips in the 2025 season. The Crimson will play four games over three days, opening with a Friday night matchup against No. 1 UCLA before taking on No. 7 Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. Harvard will close the trip with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sunday prior to returning to the East Coast.
First sprint is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday vs. UCLA, 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday against Long Beach, 6:00 p.m. ET Saturday vs. Cal State Fullerton, and 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday vs. CMS.
WEEKEND MATCHUPS
- Harvard faces UCLA for the first time since 2022, when the Crimson fell 16-15 at the Aggie Roundup. Harvard trails the all-time series 0-3.
- Through seven games this season, Harvard has already faced both the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the nation.
- The matchup with UCLA marks the first meeting with a top-ranked team since 2017.
- Saturday's game against Long Beach is just the third in program history; Harvard trails the series 0-2, with the last meeting in 2022 at Blodgett Pool.
- Harvard and CMS have each won four games in their all-time series, with Harvard claiming the last two matchups, most recently in 2018.
APPROACHING HISTORY
- Head coach Ted Minnis is two wins shy of his 300th career victory.
- In 2024, Minnis guided the program to its 10th consecutive 20-win season, advancing to the NWPC semifinals.
PRINCETON INVITE RECAP
- Harvard went 1-2 at the Princeton Invite last weekend, sweeping Bucknell before falling to CBU and Navy.
- Lukas Peabody led the Crimson with six goals and three assists in the overtime win against Bucknell, earning the top single-game performance of the weekend.
- Dean Strauser recorded 12 assists across three games, as the sophomore had a great weekend in New Jersey.
- Vilas Sogaard-Srikrishnan had a balanced showing with eight goals and six assists across the trio of games.
NEXT UP
Harvard returns to NWPC play next weekend with matchups against LIU and Iona in New York, followed by a much-anticipated trip to DeNunzio Pool to face Princeton on Sunday.
