CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University men’s water polo will play in 17 home games, host the Harvard Invitational in October, and take part in 10 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) contests as part of its 2021 schedule, The Friends of Harvard Water Polo head coach Ted Minnis announced on Thursday, July 22.
Highlights from the Crimson’s 2021 schedule include four home games from September 4-5 to open the year as a part of Brown University’s Bruno Classic, the Harvard Invitational from October 16-17, and tournaments at Princeton University and Santa Clara University. Harvard’s season culminates at the 2021 NWPC Championship from November 19-21 at Princeton in Princeton, N.J.
Following a 2020 season in which the Crimson was unable to compete, Harvard will play its season opener with the Bruno Classic on September 4 – a span of 644 days since the program played Bucknell University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament on November 30, 2019.
As part of that opening weekend, Harvard will host Mercyhurst University and Fordham University on September 4 and Wagner College and Austin College on September 5. The Crimson then compete at the Princeton Invitational from September 11-12, taking on Wagner, Bucknell and George Washington University.
Harvard hosts three straight home games against George Washington (September 18), Brown (September 18) and the United States Air Force Academy (September 26) before opening NWPC play on the road at Princeton and St. Francis College Brooklyn on October 2 and Iona College on October 3. The Crimson closes the first half of its league schedule with home contests against Brown (October 9) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (October 10).
Hosting the Harvard Invitational from October 16-17, the Crimson meets Gannon University and Wagner on day one alongside Salem University and Mount St. Mary’s University on day two. Harvard then makes a West Coast trip, taking part in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara, Calif., from October 22-24.
Over the final two weekends of the regular season, Harvard hosts Princeton and St. Francis Brooklyn on October 30 as well as Iona on October 31. The Crimson closes its league schedule at Brown (November 6) and MIT (November 7) before hosting Connecticut College (November 7).
The Crimson will compete at the 2021 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship from November 19-21 at Princeton with the winner of the tournament claiming the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.
Minnis guided the Crimson to a historic season in 2019, earning an undefeated 27-0 record through regular season play and breaking program records for best start to a season and most consecutive wins. In its sixth consecutive 20-win season, Harvard defeated Princeton to become the 2019 NWPC champion.
Harvard Athletics will provide more detailed information regarding fan attendance for 2021-22 home contests in the coming weeks. Fans interested in attending Harvard road games should check for similar information on the opponents’ websites prior to the contest.
Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
