Coming off an 18-10 loss to No. 14 Hartwick on Saturday, the No. 20 women's water polo team bounced back with two blowout wins, 17-5 against Queens College on Sunday and 11-2 against Harvard on Wednesday.
In its unofficial home opener - at Wheaton College, since Brown currently lacks a home pool fit for competition - Bruno started strong against Hartwick, scoring the first goal just 33 seconds into the match. But the Hawks quickly responded with three of their own before Lauren Presant '10 could bring it back to within one at 3-2 by the end of the quarter.
Presant went on to score four more goals in the game to lead the team in scoring. Despite her offensive contribution, the Bears couldn't keep up with Hartwick toward the end of the game.
"Throughout the game the team played with offensive intensity and gave Hartwick a fight," Presant wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
The Hawks' Kirsten Hudson also tallied five goals in the game. With an additional eight assists, Hudson tied the Hartwick record for helpers and points in a single game.
Down by four, 8-4, at intermission, the Bears were still within reach of Hartwick, but after back-and-forth scoring in the third, Brown remained down, 12-7, heading into the fourth quarter.
"We weren't converting our opportunities like we should have," Herald Senior Staff Writer Joanna Wohlmuth '11 wrote in an e-mail. "We let them counter us a lot, which was a huge problem because we don't have as big a team, and so once we get tired, we run into problems."
In the last quarter Brown lost some of its steam. Presant scored 33 seconds into the frame and again with 2:55 remaining, but the latter only interrupted a five-goal run by Hartwick, which put the Hawks ahead 17-9. One more goal on each side in the last 30 seconds left the final score at 18-10. The Bears' record fell to 9-13 overall, 3-2 in the CWPA Northern division, while the Hawks improved to 22-10, 7-0 CWPA North.
Despite the team's loss, this is the first time the Bears have scored 10 goals against Hartwick. Bruno gets another chance against the Hawks this weekend at the Northern Division Championships.
With little time to rest and no time for Spring Weekend activities, the Bears faced Queens College the next day in New London, Conn. The competition was a good change for the Bears, who defeated the Lady Knights 17-5.
"It's always good to win, but we basically knew going into it that it was going to be a blowout," Wohlmuth said. "Those kinds of games really aren't fun because there is no competition. You just have to keep playing until the clock runs out and you can go home."
Nine different Bruno players scored, with Margeaux Berroth '11 leading the pack with four. Close behind were Alexis Blaxberg '08 and Wohlmuth, who each scored three.
The Lady Knights' poor ball- handling skills allowed the Bears to take an early lead, and their weak-conditioned play permitted Bruno to remain on top and coast through the game. Up 9-1 after two quarters, the Bears scored eight more in the second half to seal the game at 17-5.
The Bears' record climbed to 10-13, 4-2 CWPA North, while Queens College sank to 2-14, 2-5 CWPA North.
Brown continued its game-packed week on Tuesday, beating Harvard 11-2 for the tenth consecutive time in its last "home" game of the season as well as its senior night. The Bears honored Blaxberg, Emily Schwartz '08 and Roxanne Palmer '08.
Despite a slow offensive start to the game, the Bears held on in front of the net.
"We knew that defensively ... we were going to be able to stop them offensively," said Head Coach Felix Mercado. "We were just prepared. Our girls took their defensive assignments and executed them to near perfection."
The Bears scored only two goals in each of the first two quarters, but they were able to maintain a lead by holding the Crimson scoreless until only 3:30 remained in the third quarter.
"In the beginning we were getting good opportunities but we weren't capitalizing," Mercado said. "I have to give Harvard credit: They were doing a good job containing us in the beginning."
But Harvard turned the ball over a total of 14 times and couldn't match Brown's rising offensive intensity in the second half.
"We were clicking but we weren't scoring. I had patience," Mercado said. "Eventually we just exploded."
The Bears scored four goals in the third period and three goals in the fourth, compared to a lone Crimson goal late in the game.
A standout on offense was Blaxberg, who Mercado said played "out of her mind." She scored a game-high four goals along with six steals and four ejections drawn, both game-highs.
"I've waited four years for my senior game," Blaxberg said. "Even though they're not the greatest team, we always go into that game excited because of the Brown-Harvard rivalry. We don't want to beat them, we want to kill them."
Brown's record rose to 11-13, 5-2 CWPA North, while Harvard dropped to 10-10. 3-4 CWPA North.
The Bears head to Utica, N.Y. as the No. 2 seed for the Northern Division Championship this weekend. They will face No. 3 Connecticut College and No. 6 Utica College in round-robin play on Saturday, and they may have one more chance to beat Hartwick in the championship on Sunday.
Hartwick is the only team that has beaten Brown this season in league play. Brown has beaten both of its upcoming Saturday opponents already this season.
