CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - No. 9 women's water polo is set to begin the 2026 NCAA tournament on Friday against No. 3 UCLA in San Diego. 

Entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed, Harvard will play the No. 2 Bruins in the second matchup of the season between the two. 

WHAT TO KNOW

• The No. 9 Crimson is set to make its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament after beating Princeton in the fourth period of sudden-victory overtime on Apr. 12 by a score of 8-7.
• Senior captain Ella Schneider scored the golden goal for the Crimson after a game-saving stop from Orli Cooper on the other side of the pool.
• Orli Cooper was named Tournament MVP after the sophomore goaltender made 18 saves to backstop the Crimson to the 2026 title. Twelve of her 18 saves came in the fourth quarter or later.

2026 AT A GLANCE

• The Crimson was dominant once again in 2026, entering the NCAA Tournament with 26 wins-tying a program record set last season.
• Harvard amassed 10 ranked wins and beat Ivy rivals Princeton and Brown twice.
• The Crimson went on two separate long win streaks throughout the season, starting with 11 straight wins before a loss to Michigan sparked another 12-game win streak.
• From Jan. 23 to Feb. 21, the Crimson averaged 8.5 goals per game and had a goal differential of +101.
• The second streak was even more dominant, as the Crimson averaged 9.8 goals per game with a goal differential of +188.
• Harvard enters the tournament with a goal differential of +210 after scoring 423 goals and allowing 213.
• The Crimson posted a 19-1 record, marking the best start in program history through 20 games.

ALL-CONFERENCE CRIMSON

• Emma Gilbert and Maya O'Dea earned first-team All-CWPA honors, headlining six Crimson players named to the all-conference teams.
• Joining the junior duo were Orli Cooper, Niki Piovan, and Heidi Heffelfinger on the second team, while Ella Schneider earned honorable mention.
• Ted Minnis was also named CWPA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in his career.
• One of the most dependable Crimson players on both sides of the pool this season, Emma Gilbert netted 38 goals and added 29 assists during the regular season. She also recorded a team-high 12 blocks and 30 steals in her junior campaign heading into the playoffs.
• 2024 CWPA Rookie of the Year Maya O'Dea added another impressive accolade to her career, tallying a team-high 65 goals along with 57 assists heading into the postseason. The only Crimson player to surpass 100 points this season, O'Dea earned CWPA Player of the Week honors on March 2.
• Minnis earned Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career, helping lead the Crimson to its second consecutive regular-season title. Harvard posted its best start in program history through 20 games with a 19-1 record. Climbing as high as No. 8 in the national polls, the Crimson recorded eight ranked wins during the regular season.
• Cutino Award Watch List recipient Orli Cooper earned her second consecutive second-team honor after backstopping the Crimson to a 24-3 overall record. She made 186 saves on the year through the regular season and was named CWPA Defensive Player of the Week five times.
• Cooper earned the most weekly awards of any player in the CWPA this season.
• Last season's CWPA Rookie of the Year, Niki Piovan, also landed on the second team after another strong campaign. She finished second in scoring with 52 goals and was named CWPA Player of the Week twice.
• Senior Heidi Heffelfinger rounds out the Crimson selections on the second team with the first All-CWPA honor of her career. She totaled 39 goals and 44 assists this season, nearly doubling her assist total from her junior year.
• Ella Schneider earned honorable mention following a career season. With 24 goals and 34 assists, the senior surpassed her previous season high by 14 points.

• Harvard has now won four straight overtime games in the CWPA playoffs.
• The Crimson defeated No. 14 Michigan 9-8 in overtime in last year's semifinals before a 10-8 defeat of Princeton in the CWPA Championship.
• Against the Wolverines, the Crimson trailed by one entering the fourth quarter, but Harvard stormed back with four goals in the final quarter of regulation. A pair of goals from Niki Piovan in the fourth quarter proved huge, as the CWPA Rookie of the Year scored late to force overtime.
• Senior Dany Zapata scored the winning goal in overtime as she picked the corner. On the other end, Orli Cooper came up with a game-saving stop in the dying seconds to send the Crimson to the CWPA championship game.
• In its first title game since 2023, Maya O'Dea gave Harvard its first two-goal lead of the evening after wiring a skip shot into the top corner, making it 8-6 with just over five minutes to go. Princeton tied the game to force overtime, but O'Dea struck again with another clutch goal that proved to be the game-winner as Cooper made multiple key stops in the extra frame.
• Looking to defend its title in 2026, Harvard earned a first-round bye for the first time in program history and needed just two wins to repeat.
• Against Brown, the Crimson pulled out a win in an exciting back-and-forth semifinal. Trailing 4-2 early in the second quarter, Harvard took a 5-4 lead into halftime before Brown responded to force overtime with the game tied at seven.
• Heidi Heffelfinger tied the game at eight-all as the clock nearly expired in the first overtime. Niki Piovan, Heffelfinger, and Lucy Berkman then scored in the second overtime period to give Harvard an 11-8 win and a chance to defend its title.
• In a 2025 CWPA Championship rematch, Maya O'Dea scored late in the fourth quarter to make it 7-6 Crimson, but Princeton responded to tie it.
• Orli Cooper was the story down the stretch, making numerous key saves – none bigger than a five-meter save with 26 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
• The first two overtime periods solved nothing, sending the teams to sudden victory. Cooper remained stellar in the do-or-die moments, and Princeton hit the crossbar on an exclusion in the fourth sudden-victory period. With the ball behind her, the sophomore keeper barely kept it out before corralling it and sending Harvard the other way.
• Ella Schneider walked in and beat the netminder on a skip shot for the first goal in over 17 minutes of action, wrapping up the longest game in CWPA playoff history.