CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No.12 women's water polo heads west for the first half of a six-game swing on the West Coast, beginning with No. 16 UC San Diego on Saturday.

The Crimson will then head to the Aztec Invite to take on No. 18 San Jose State and No. 19 San Diego State in a Sunday doubleheader. Harvard will face UC San Diego at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday before a 12:00 p.m. meeting with San Jose State on Sunday and closing the day with San Diego State at 7:20 p.m. Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+, while Sunday's streaming information is still to be determined.

Harvard looks to improve to 19-1 through 20 games, marking the best record through 20 games in program history. If the Crimson were to fall to 18-2, it would tie the best record through 20 games with the 1988-89 team.

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Crimson improved to 18-1 after a pair of wins over the weekend. Defeating Siena 19-5 and VMI 23-7, the Crimson outscored its opponents 42-12. 
• Harvard currently boasts a goal differential of +168 through 19 games.
• With a total of 301 goals scored, Harvard has won by an average of 8.84 goals per game. 
• Ted Minnis is one win away from his 280th career victory, as the longtime head coach approaches 300 career wins with the women's program.
• The Crimson finished the home season at Blodgett without a loss for the first time since 2012, posting a perfect 9-0 record.
• Last weekend, Harvard wasted no time in the first game of the day, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.
•  Lucy Levenberg-Penklis, Beatrice Hearey, Sofia Del Villar, and Heidi Heffelfinger all scored in the opening quarter. 
• Four more goals in the second gave Harvard a 10-0 lead at the half, and the Crimson went on to score nine of the next 14 goals in the game.
• The Crimson again started fast in the late game, with a goal from Heffelfinger in the first 30 seconds.
•  Harvard then rattled off six more unanswered goals to surge to a 7-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Hearey contributed three first-quarter goals to tally an early hat trick. Harvard doubled its goal total in the second quarter and did not allow a goal until the 2:20 mark, building a 14-2 lead at halftime.
• Harvard outscored VMI 9-5 in the second half to run away with the game. Hearey finished the day with four goals and three assists.
•  Heffelfinger and Levenberg-Penklis also added hat tricks in the Crimson's decisive victory.
• Last season, Harvard swept the season series with UC San Diego, earning an 11-8 win at home before defeating the Tritons again in California, 13-11. 
• Harvard also beat then-No. 17 San Jose State, 14-6, while the Crimson and Aztecs are set to meet for the first time since a 16-11 win in 2024.

NEXT UP
Harvard plays its first midweek games of the year on Wednesday against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer.