The GW women’s water polo team opened its season with a win and two losses at the Princeton Invitational last weekend. The Colonials managed a win against Harvard University Sunday after two Saturday losses to UMass and Brown University.

The Colonials (1-2) are ranked eighth in their conference for the 2002 season by the Collegiate Water Polo Association in its Preseason top-10 poll. GW finished last season with a 14-13 overall record and a 6-2 CWPA record.

Sophomore Mia Fabian, who led the Colonials with 62 goals last season, scored twice in the 7-4 victory over Harvard, with sophomores Kira Canon and Vanessa Fravel also adding a pair of goals. Junior Judi Marhefka also chipped in with a goal.

“We played great considering it was our first tournament of the year,” head coach Scott Reed said. “I’m most pleased with our defense but we didn’t get going until the very end.”

While the team finished the tournament on a winning note, the Colonials lost their first two games Saturday to UMass and Brown. Canon and Vanessa Fravel had two goals apiece in a 12-5 loss to UMass.

“Our offense is still struggling and haven’t quite found a grove,” Reed said.

The Colonials played better in their next game against Brown but still ended up with a 6-5 loss. Canon, Fravel and Fabian all scored.

“We Should have won against Brown, but we just did not convert on opportunities,” Reed said.

Canon, who finished last season with 48 points, scored six goals in three games.

The Colonials, playing in their first tournament this season, ended last season at the Eastern Championships at Brown University, where, with Harvard, they were the only unranked teams to advance that far.

The Colonials qualified for last year’s tournament by placing fourth at the Southern Championships, then finished last in the competition after losing to Hartwick College, the University of Michigan and Harvard. The winner of the tournament, Brown, received an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore Mia Fabian was named to the Second All-Tournament Team at the Easter Championships.

Princeton finished the tournament with a perfect record and moved to a 4-0 record. The Tigers thumped Bucknell 15-2, beat Harvard 10-3, then defeated Indiana 11-10 and closed the tournament with a 12-3 stomping of Slippery Rock.