Harvard Varsity Club NEWS & VIEWS of Harvard Sports Volume 54 Issue No. 5 www.harvardvarsityclub.org March 2, 2012 Perfection Under Way! Women s Squash Captures 13th National Title by Brett Moore Athletics Communications Assistant At the onset of the women s squash season, all eyes were on Cambridge, as Harvard was set to host the College Squash Association (CSA) Howe Cup to determine a women s team national champion and the host Crimson was deemed the early favorite to be crowned. The Crimson had four returning All-Americans from the 2010-11 squad that finished second in the CSA finals, just one point behind Yale in the title match, and brought in one of the most touted freshmen classes in the nation to bolster its lineup. With a talented mixture of veterans and newcomers, the CSA ranked Harvard at No. 1 in its preseason poll, just ahead of Ivy League rivals Yale and Princeton. With senior co-captain Cece Cortes and freshman Amanda Sobhy making their season debuts after missing the first seven victories of the 2011 portion of the schedule, the Crimson was ready to start 2012 with all the pieces to its lineup intact. During its first weekend of Ivy League play, Harvard faced one of its toughest challenges of the year against No. 3 Princeton. The Crimson lost the first three matches against the Tigers and fell behind 4-1, leaving Princeton within a point of victory. Harvard stormed back, winning the next four, including a 3-2 win from Haley Mendez at No. 4 to clinch a come-frombehind victory. Harvard was not tested over the next three Ancient Eight matchups, winning by 9-0 tallies in each, to setup a showdown with No. 2 Yale in the regular season finale for the Ivy League championship. The Crimson fell behind early in New Haven, Conn., as the Bulldogs jumped to a 4-2 lead. Harvard needed a sweep from its final three student-athletes and got just that as Sobhy, Sarah Mumanachit 13 and Mendez closed out the championship. Mendez once again provided the clinching win, a 3-0 sweep of Yale s Alexandra Van Arkel. Using a lineup of two seniors, three juniors and four freshmen, the Crimson were set to take on No. 8 Dartmouth, a team it Continued on Page 6 Women s Swimming & Diving Wins Ivy Title by Andrew Chesebro Assistant Director of Athletic Communications The Harvard women s swimming and diving team captured the 10th Ivy League championship in program history Saturday in front of the home crowd at Blodgett Pool. The Crimson totaled 1,478.5 points, 168 points ahead of two-time defending champion Princeton which finished second with 1,310.5. Harvard has now won three Ivy titles under Stephanie Wriede Morawski 92, the Costin Family Head Coach for Harvard Women s Swimming and Diving. Harvard won a total of five events over the weekend, including two during Saturday s final session. Freshman Kelsey Hojan-Clark won the 1,000 free on Friday and the 1,650 free on Saturday, becoming the fourth student-athlete in Ivy League history to win both events in the same year. She is just the fourth Crimson to take home the 1,000 free crown, while her victory in the 1,650 free was the ninth in program history. Senior Meghan Leddy earned her third conference championship in the 200 back Saturday, making her just the fourth Ivy Leaguer to win the event three times. Harvard earned its 11th 400 IM title Friday with Courtney Otto 15 taking the crown. Harvard s lone relay victory came in the 800 free relay as the team of Catherine Zagroba 12, Sara Li 14, Otto and Faith Martin 15 won the event for the sixth time in program history. Leslie Rea 12, who placed second in the three meter and third in the one meter diving events, was recognized as the Ivy League s Career High Point Diver with 298.35 points. Rea, Schuyler Moore 14 and Alex Stanton 14 officially closed the books on the meet by placing second, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the three-meter diving board. Moore and Stanton posted totals of 274.10 and 268.20, respectively. That same weekend, the Crimson placed second at the ECAC Championships. Clare Foster 13 won the 200 IM during the first championship finals session on Friday with a time of 2:06.27. Victoria Pratt 12 placed sixth in the event in 2:08.40 while Helen Pitchik 12 placed eighth in 2:09.71. The Crimson turned in an impressive performance on the onemeter diving board as Cassandra Corneau 15 turned in a total score of 242.60 for the win. Otto earned a team-high four All-Ivy selections including first team honors in the 400 IM and as a member of the winning 800 free relay team. Hojan-Clark won both the 1,000 free and 1,650 free for the first All-Ivy accolades of her career. Leddy received the third first team honor of her career. Joining Hojan-Clark, Leddy and Otto on the first team are Martin, Li and Zagroba for their role in winning the 800 free relay. Zagroba was also a first team selection in the 800 free relay after helping the Crimson to wins in 2009 and 2011, and was a second team honoree in 2010. Li, meanwhile, was a member of last year s winning 800 relay team and the second place 200 relay team, and is now a three-time All-Ivy selection. Martin also earned All-Ivy League second team as the runner-up to Otto in the 400 IM. Rea received All-Ivy honors for the first time in her career for her second-place finish on the three-meter diving board.
Women s Basketball (14-11, 7-4 Ivy) Christine Clark 14 picked up her second Ivy League Player of the Week honor on Monday, February 6th after scoring 23 points in the team s win against Cornell on Friday and 21 points in their win against Columbia on Saturday. Clark averaged 22 points per game for the weekend and became the first Crimson student-athlete to score 20- plus points in back-to-back games since February of 2010. Brogan Berry 12 made history in the team s 71-51 win over Yale on February 18th, becoming the first Ivy Leaguer to amass 1,300 career points and 500 career assists. She finished the night with eight points and seven assists. Victoria Lippert 13 (pictured) also made history by becoming the 16th member of Harvard s 1,000 point club. The Crimson women defeated Penn 57-53 in a down-to-thewire game on February 25th. Lippert hit a three-pointer with just 1:13 remaining in the game to take the lead. Emma Golen 13 added 13 points and was 4-of-8 from behind the arc, while Clark chipped in 12 points. Miriam Rutzen 13 grabbed 10 rebounds, the fifth time this season she has recorded at least 10. Fencing (Men 12-6; Women 15-6) The No. 3 men s team went 5-1 at the Ivy League Championships on February 12th, coming in second-place behind Princeton and earning four Ivy League awards in the process. Seniors Valentin Staller and James Hawrot, along with freshman Brian Kaneshige earned first team All-Ivy League honors. Sophomore Lucas Lin landed on the Ivy League s second team. The men swept all three Boston area opponents in the 2012 fencing Beanpot Tournament on February 14th. The team defeated MIT, Boston College, and Brandeis to claim the title with a 24-3 record in the tournament. The women placed third at the Ivy Championships, led by 2011 National Champion Alexandra Kiefer 14, who was a first team All-Ivy selection. Kathy Chou 13 was also named to the first team. Harvard is preparing for the NCAA regionals, which will be hosted by Boston College on March 11th. Men s Volleyball (9-2, 3-2 Hay Division) Sophomore Derek Jansma and senior co-captain Matt Jones led the Crimson in a 3-0 victory over Emmanuel College on February 22nd. Jansma finished with 24 assists, while Jones recorded 14 kills. Harvard recorded its ninth win of the year on February 25th, defeating Sacred Heart 3-0. Sophomore Nick Madden led the Crimson, finishing out the game with 14 kills. Skiing Sophomore Rebecca Nadler (below) claimed the giant slalom event at the Williams Carnival at Jiminy Peak on February 19th, becoming the first Harvard Alpine skier to win a downhill event on the EISA circuit. Nadler, now the overall points leader in the EISA, improved on consecutive second place finishes with her victory this weekend. Harvard finished its team season in ninth place out of 16 schools at the EISA Championships in Middlebury and Stowe, Vt. on February 24th. Nadler led the alpine teams with a 12th place finish in the women s giant slalom, and Kevin McNamara 12 led the way with a 56th place finish in the men s giant slalom. Winter Sports Recaps by: Celia Kohl 13 2 Men s Swimming & Diving (6-2, 6-1 Ivy) The Harvard men set two pool records in a 168-130 win at Penn on February 11th. Niall Janney 14 took the 400 IM in a time of 3:58.11, and the 400 free relay team of Spenser Goodman 14, Oliver Lee 14, Chris Satterthwaite 14, and Griffin Schumacher 15 combined for a time of 3:01.18. Harvard will compete at the Ivy League Championships, which are being held this year at Princeton on March 1-3. The Crimson is looking to knock off the Tigers, who are the threetime defending champions. Men s Hockey (8-8-11, 6-5-9 ECAC, 3-3-4 Ivy) Harvard men s hockey scored five unanswered goals in a 6-3 defeat over Quinnipiac on February 3rd. Raphael Girard 14 (below) stopped all 26 shots in his first collegiate win. Marshall Everson 13 led the way with a goal and two assists, along with teammate Danny Biega 13, who scored twice, and Alex Killorn 12, with three assists. The Crimson closed out the 60th Beanpot tournament with a 3-2 win over Northeastern on Monday, February 13th. Killorn, Alex Fallstrom 13, and Luke Greiner 13 all scored for Harvard, while Steve Michalek 15 made 24 saves. Setting a new NCAA Division I record for draws, Harvard tied Brown 3-3 in their 11th tie of the season on Friday February 17th. Killorn led the way, scoring twice and assisting on Alex Fallstrom s goal. The Crimson head into the ECAC hockey tournament with a bye in the quarterfinal round and home ice. Men s Basketball (24-4, 10-2 Ivy) Harvard topped Columbia 57-52 on Saturday, February 4th, led by co-captain Keith Wright 12 with 15 points and six rebounds. Laurent Rivard 14 scored 20 points, while Brandyn Curry 13 chipped in 12. Wright tied the Harvard career record for blocks in a 66-51 win over Yale in front of a sold out Lavietes Pavilion on February 18th. Curry added 18 points, co-captain Oliver McNally 12 added nine, and Rivard tallied seven. Harvard lost a heartbreaker to Penn last Saturday, February 25th. The team will look to clinch the Ivy Title this weekend on a roadtrip to Columbia and Cornell. Wrestling (5-10, 2-7 EIWA) Four Crimson wrestlers were featured in the second set of NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings for the 2011-12 wrestling season on February 10th. Walter Pepperman 13 moved from fourth to eighth at 157 lbs, while Corey Jantzen 12 moved from sixth to eighth at 149 lbs. Steven Keith 13 was bumped up three places to 12th at 133 lbs, and James Fox 15 is now ranked No. 27 at 197 lbs. Harvard fell 30-12 at Columbia on February 18th. The Crimson posted four wins on the day from Peppelman, Keith, Josh Popple 15, and Fox in the team s dual-meet finale. Indoor Track Harvard topped Yale but fell to Princeton at the 2012 HYP meet on February 11th. Nico Weiler 13 set a new school record, capturing the pole vault with a clearance of 17 4.5 and earning five points for the Crimson. Both the men s and women s team turned in fourth-place performances at the two-day Indoor Heptagonal Championships on February 25-26th. The men finished with 59 team points and the women finishing with 65. Meg Looney 12 was one of five Harvard individual champions, winning the 800 and taking the event title in a time of 2:10.35.
CRIMSON COMMENTARY by Melissa Schellberg 10 Varsity Club Special Assistant Unless, you ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard about Linsanity, the worldwide phenomenon of Jeremy Lin 10. Since our last issue, Jeremy was called up from the D-League with the Knicks due to multiple player injuries. Lin wasted no time racking up 25 points and 7 assists against the NJ Nets on February 4th. For six straight games, Jeremy proved himself night after night. He is currently averaging 14.4 points per game and 5.8 assists per game. Lin made his mark against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on February 10th, where he tallied 38 points and 7 assists. You could say he is Lincredible! Jeremy s face has graced the covers of the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and Sports Illustrated (above)--twice!. He is the inspiration of the new Ben & Jerry s ice cream flavor called Linsanity. Jeremy s been all over the news, sports, and even was the topic of a skit on Saturday Night Live. You can t watch ESPN for 20 minutes without mention of Jeremy or a Lin reference. Jeremy was also one of the top names Googled in February. Off the court, Jeremy has moved off the couch of his brother s apartment into more comfortable digs and his jersey is still the #1 seller among NBA stars Harvard even sold 100 replica Lin jerseys on-site at the Penn/Princeton basketball games last weekend. Assistant Director of Athletics Luke Walczewski and his wife Erin welcomed a bouncing baby boy, Jack Robert Walczewski at 2:04 a.m. on February 13, 2012. Congratulations to the first-time parents! Harvard Athletics announced earlier this month that the Egan Family generously endowe the head coach position for men s swimming and diving. Tim D. Murphy will now serve as the Ulen-Brooks Endowed Coach for Harvard Men s Swimming and Diving. The Egan family has endowed the position in honor of the first two men s swimming and diving coaches at Harvard, Harold S. Ulen and William J. Brooks. Ulen spent 27 seasons as head coach of the Crimson from 1930-59. Brooks took over in 1959 following Ulen s retirement and spent the next 12 seasons as Harvard s head coach. There are now 13 total endowed head coaching positions as follows: The Joseph J. O Donnell 67 MBA 71 Head Coach for Harvard Baseball The Thomes Bolles Endowment for Men s Heavyweight Crew The Thomas Stephenson 64 MBA 66 Family Head Coach for Harvard Football The Robert D. Ziff 88 Head Coach for Harvard Men s Ice Hockey The Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women s Ice Hockey The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men s Lacrosse The Virginia B. and James O. Welch, Jr. 52 Head Coach for Harvard Men s Soccer The Gregory Lee 87 and Russell Ball 88 Endowed Coach for Squash at Harvard University The Ulen-Brooks Endowed Coach for Harvard Men s Swimming and Diving The Costin Family Endowed Coach for Harvard Women s Swimming and Diving The Scott Mead 77 Family Head Coach for Harvard Men s Tennis The David G. Bunning 88 Head Coach for Harvard Wrestling The Nichols Family Director of Harvard Athletics Men s basketball alumnus, Glenn Fine 78, has been elected to the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. The induction will take place on May 21st, 2012. If you re interested in attending, please email Debbie Weiss at info@phillyjewishsports.org or call her directly at (610) 664-9990. 3 Harvard football has hired four new coaches this offseason. After the promotion of Mike Horan to the defensive line coach, Ryan Crawford from the University of Rhode Island will join the Harvard staff next season as the defensive backs coach. Ron DiGravio will assist Horan as the defensive line coaching assistant. Chris Batti from Northwestern will be the running backs coach and Jeremy Bandy will serve as the offensive line coach. Bandy hails from Holy Cross, where four of his six seasons were spent as the offensive line coach. Former women s volleyball player Kelsey Beck 14 (below) was crowned Miss Boston last month. Kelsey came in first of eleven contestants. She will now have the opportunity to compete at the Miss Massachusetts pageant, which then feeds to the Miss America Pageant. Kelsey played piano for the talent portion of the evening. Her official platform issue is advocating for the elderly. We wish Kelsey the best of luck and hope to see her on the televised Miss America Pageant later this year! You can read more about Kelsey at www.missboston.org. Earlier this year, Angela Ruggiero 04 decided to hang up her skates for good and retire as an active ice hockey player. Angela played in the U.S. ice hockey program for 16 years, and finished her career with 208 points including 67 goals and 141 assists. She played in four Olympics for the United States, becoming the youngest player to win the first women s Olympic hockey gold medal in Japan. She also played in 10 World Championships and garnered four gold medals and six silver medals along the way. At Harvard, Angela was a Patty Kazmaier Award Recipient in 2004 and is deemed one of the best players ever to wear crimson on the ice. At the 2012 Super Bowl Championship, Matt Birk 98, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, was honored as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for outstanding community service off the field. Amazingly, Birk is an eight-time recipient of this award. Birk instituted a program called Ready, Set, Read! which uses incentives to encourage children in the Baltimore area to read more to improve their overall reading skills and comprehension. In addition, Birk has agreed to donate brain and spinal cord tissue towards head trauma research at Boston University s School of Medicine. Read more about Matt here: http:// www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82637869/article/walter-payton-nfl-man-of-the-year-to-be-announced-feb-4. Have something you think should be included in the next News & Views? Email us at hvc@fas.harvard.edu! Athletics Thinks Green! The Athletics Green Team, a group of Harvard University, started off the spring semester with a Valentine s Cosmetics Drive, collecting surplus cosmetics, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and toiletries from Harvard s athletic teams. The effort was coordinated through team captains and satisfied two goals: avoiding waste of toiletries and cosmetic products and delivering them to families in need. The recipients of this year s drive were the residents of the Cambridge YWCA Family Shelter for their annual Valentine s Party. Next up for the Green Team in their partnership with Athletics is coordinating the cleaning out of locker rooms at the end of the winter and spring seasons. Athletes will have the option of donating clothing and other items in recycling bins provided by the Green Team. If you have an interest in any Green Team initiatives or have ideas about implementing sustainable initiatives within Athletics, please contact the Athletics Eco-REP, Olivia Staffon at oliviastaffon@gmail.com.
Men s Squash (16-4, 5-2 Ivy) No. 4 Harvard slid past No. 7 Cornell on February 5th with a 5-4 win. Tyler Olson 15 and Zeke Scherl 13 were the first to register victories at No. 5 and No. 8, respectively. Ali Faraq 14, Gary Power 14, and Julian Kirby 15 also picked up wins for Harvard. In its final match at the Murr Center this season on February 10th, the Crimson swept Brown 9-0. Senior co-captain Will Ahmed won his final home-court match, breezing past his opponent 3-0. Harvard topped Cornell 5-4 and finished third in the nation on the final day of the College Squash Association Men s Team Championship. The Crimson, which had its first top-three finish since the 2006-07 season, finished second in program history for wins in a season, reaching 20 matches played for the first time since 1955-56. The Harvard men s golf team will travel over spring break to PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The team will end its trip playing Cornell on March 18th at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla. Ivy League play will open April 7. Harvard will look for successful campains from top returners captain Tony Grillo 12, Seiji Liu 14, and Michael Lai 14. The Harvard women s golf team will also travel to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. for a spring break training trip. The Ivy League Championships will be played April 27-29 at Seaview, Bay Course in Absecon, NY. Harvard will look to captain Christine Cho 12 and sophomore Bonnie Hu to lead the way this year to win the first Ivy League championship since 2009. Spring Sports Previews Men s & Women s Golf Baseball The Crimson men will play a 40-game regular season schedule beginning on March 2nd. Play opens the weekend of March 2-4th with a three-game set in Tucson, Arizona against the Arizona Wildcats. Led by captain Andrew Ferreira 13, the Crimson look to get back on top of the Ivy League. Jeff Reynolds 12 (below), a first team All-Ivy selection for 2011, will return this year along with All-Ivy honorable mention honoree Marcus Way 12. Harvard steps into Ivy League play with a match at Cornell on March 31st, followed by a game at Princeton on April 1st. The same weekend as their home opener against Boston College, the Crimson hosts Columbia and Penn in a pair of doubleheaders April 7-8. Women s Water Polo (7-2 Overall) Harvard opened the 2012 campaign at the Iona Invitational on February 4th, falling to Iona 15-14 but finishing the invite 1-1 after a 13-1 victory over Villanova. The Crimson women are on a five game win streak since Feb. 12, with a recent close win over Iona, 14-13. Harvard is coming off a 17-15 overall 2011 season record with a 6th place finish at the College Water Polo Association Eastern Championship. Senior co-captain Devan Kennifer and Monica Zdrojewski 12, who scored 76 and 60 goals, respectively, led Harvard last season. Kennifer and Zdrojewski return for their senior year along with co-captain Shannon Purcell 12, who led the 2011 squad in assists with 50. Other Start Dates Men s Heavyweight Crew: March 31, 2012 vs. San Diego Men s Lightweight Crew: April 7, 2012 vs. Cornell/Penn Women s Heavyweight Crew: Mar 24, 2012 - Beanpot Regatta Women s Lightweight Crew: April 7, 2012 vs. Georgetown Sailing: Mar 17, 2012 in Trux Umsted Regatta at Navy by: Celia Kohl 13 Women s Hockey (21-8-1, 17-4-1 ECAC, 8-4 Ivy) The Harvard women blew past Princeton 10-1 on February 4th, scoring 7 goals in the second period and tying the NCAA record for the number of goals in the second period. Jillian Dempsey 13 netted five goals and a natural hat trick, coming within one goal of tying the NCAA record for goals in a game. Dempsey was named ECAC hockey player of the week the following week, along with freshman teammate Samantha Reber, who was named Rookie of the Week. Sarah Edney 15 tallied two goals in the Crimson s 5-1 victory over Brown on February 17th. The Bears ended the Crimson s shutout opportunity on a power play near the end of the game. Sophomore forward Lyndsey Fry led Harvard to a 4-0 win over Yale, scoring all four goals on February 18th in their regularseason finale. Fry s hat trick is the third by a Harvard skater this season following Gina McDonald 14 and Dempsey. Women s Lacrosse (1-0) The No. 19 women s lacrosse team opened its 38th season on February 25th with an 11-9 victory over Boston University at Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium. Senior tri-captain Melanie Baskind and Jennifer VanderMeulen 13 each scored three goals and teammate Jess Halpern 12 (right) added two goals. The Crimson is coming off its most successful season in 17 years, posting a 10-6 overall record and 5-2 Ivy League record in 2011. The team returns 23 of 24 letterwinners from last year s team. VanderMeulen and Danielle Tetreault 13 were named to the 2012 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which comprises the top 50 women s lacrosse student-athletes from all three collegiate divisions. VanderMeulen was named to the Synapse Sports All-America second team last season, as well as the IWLCA All-Region first team and All-Ivy League first team after ranking 18th in the NCAA in goals per game and 30th in goals. Tetreault was a first team All-Region and second team All-Ivy selection last year and ranked 31st in the nation for goals per game. Men s Lacrosse (1-0) The No. 14/15 Crimson opened the 2012 season with an 11-4 victory over visiting team Vermont at Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium on February 25th. Harry Krieger 13 kept Vermont scoreless for nearly 41 minutes, finishing the game with 6 saves in just over 58 minutes of work in the net. Daniel Eipp 14 led the Crimson with a hat trick. Last season, the team boasted a 10-6 overall record and won 10 games for the first time since 1998. Three of the teams top four scorers will return from last season: Jeff Cohen 12, Kevin Vaughan 12, and Eipp. Krieger also returns after starting all 16 games last spring. Daniel DiMaria 12 paced the Crimson with 56 ground balls last season, while Gabriel Mendola 14 won 75 of 128 faceoff attempts. Last month, Vaughan and DiMaria were selected to the 2012 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Vaughan was chosen in the second round as the 14th overall pick by the Denver Outlaws. DiMaria was chosen in the sixth round as the 41st overall pick by the Charlotte Hounds. Softball The Crimson will kick off its season with a trip to Florida to compete in the South Florida Under Armour Invitational March 2-4 in Tampa, Fla. The team will open the tournament with a game against Toledo, before facing Western Michigan, Miami (Ohio), and host South Florida throughout the three-day event. Co-captain Rachel Brown 12 is on pace to break over six pitching records in her season campaign. She will help lead the team this year with co-captain Whitney Shaw 12. We can also expect big things from 2011 Rookie of the Year Kasey Lange 14. The Crimson will face Quinnipiac in a doubleheader on March 22nd for its home opener. Ivy League play begins March 30th at Cornell in a rematch of the last two Ivy League championship series. 4
CRIMSON PHOTO GALLERY Friends of Harvard Basketball Alumni Weekend. (Left) Alumni gather for a picture on the court of Lavietes Pavilion. (Right) Alumni pose at the reception in the Dillon Field House Lounge. Friends of Harvard Basketball Alumnae Weekend. (Left) Women s basketball alumnae participate in the annual alumnae basketball game. (Right) Women s basketball alumnae and current Harvard players pose for a picture after the weekend s festivities in Lavietes Pavilion. Friends of Harvard Baseball Boston Reception. (Left) Volunteer Assistant Coach Morgan Brown 06, Chris Mackey 06, and Graham Taylor 49 at the reception in the Dillon Field House Lounge. (Right) (l-r) Brett Vankoski 98, Graham McKay 01, Mike Madden 00, Mike Giampaolo 00, Bill Madden 94, Scot Hopps 01, and Matt Devine 00 in the bubble at Harvard Stadium. Spring Sports Recaps by: Celia Kohl 13 Women s Tennis (3-3 Overall) Men s Tennis (5-5 Overall) The Harvard women fell to Boston College 5-2 on February 9th, despite early momentum and a pair of comeback victories. Samantha Gridley 12 won a pair of matches, one of which involved coming back from a 7-3 hole to win 8-7 with teammate Camille Jania 13. The pair was playing in the No. 3 spot. With a dominant effort in doubles play and four wins in singles, Harvard defeated Boston University 5-2 at the Murr Center on February 24th. Kristin Norton 13, Jania, Gridley, and Kelly Whelan 15 led the Crimson, each finishing 2-0 on the day. Harvard continues its non-conference schedule by hosting St. John s at the Murr Center on March 10th. 5 The Crimson men defeated Butler 7-0 in Indianapolis, Ind. on February 5th, after having fallen 5-2 to No. 27 Indiana the day before. Harvard opened the day sweeping the doubles matches, as the team of Andy Nguyen 13 and Denis Nguyen 15 defeated their opponents in the No. 1 position. Alistair Felton 12 and Alex Steinroeder 15 came out on top in the No. 2 position, followed by a win from the duo of Christo Schultz 14 and Henry Steer 15. With four singles victories, Harvard defeated No. 6 Brown, 4-1, to win the ECAC Team Championships. Jonathan Pearlman 12, Schultz, Steer, and Shaun Chaudhuri 15 all took down their opponents in singles matches.
blew out 8-1 in the regular season, in the first round of the CSA Women s Team Championship at the Murr Center. Harvard took little time to secure the match. The Crimson won the first six contests to clinch the victory in just over an hour and finished the sweep in the last three matches to move Harvard to the semifinals against No. 5 Trinity. The Bantams provided little challenge for Harvard, as the Crimson took another sweeping victory, 9-0, to reach the championship where they would face rival Yale. Harvard took an early lead over Yale, as two of the first three matches played went Harvard s way. Co-captain Nirasha Gurge 12 (pictured below with Cortes) gave Harvard a 1-0 lead with one of the quickest matches of the day and Natasha Kingshott 13 won 3-0 after an extended second game. Guruge swept Rhetta Nadas, 3-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-9), at No. 3 position and Kinghsott beat Gwendoline Tilghman, 3-0 (11-9, 19-17, 11-6) in the No. 6. In the No. 2 spot, Laura Gemmell 13 made quick work of Kimberley Hay, 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 15-13) and Julianne Chu 15 topped Lillian Fast, 3-1 (11-5, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6), at No. 8. Just before Chu finished off her match with Fast, Cortes stepped on to the court with a 2-1 lead over Katherine Ballaine. Once Chu s match was over, the Crimson faithful turned their attention to Cortes, as Harvard led 4-1 in the match, just one point away from obtaining the national title. Cortes started the fourth game with a flurry of winners, taking an 8-0 lead before Ballaine got on the board. By that time, the team had gathered around the court, waiting for Cortes (pictured right) to finish the Bulldogs. The Crimson s senior won the next three points to take the game, 11-1, the match, 3-1, and the Howe Cup for Harvard. It feels great. We played Yale in the finals last year and lost 4-5, so it was really great to come back and win 8-1, decisively, this year, said Cortes. On paper, we were the team to beat all season. We had a few bad days, such as Princeton when we were down 1-4 and Yale when we were down 2-4, but today everyone showed up and played to their potential. Mike Way, the Gregory Lee 87 and Russell Ball 88 Endowed Coach for Squash at Harvard University, added I m delighted with not just the result, but how they played and how they conducted themselves. Harvard s national championship is the first for the women s program under Way. The Crimson, which has won two of the last three CSA national titles, completed its season with a perfect 17-0 record, as Harvard also claimed the Barhite Award, given to team with the best dual-match record, along the way. It is the 13th national championship for the program and 12th undefeated season. Upcoming Friends and Varsity Club Events MARCH 12 Friends of Football Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m., East Conference Room, Murr Center 15 Friends of Soccer NYC Fundraiser, 7:00 p.m., Residence of Chris Collins 00 24 Women s Hockey Awards Brunch, 11 a.m., Harvard Club of Boston 26 HVC Executive Board Meeting, 5:15 p.m., Third Floor Lounge, Murr Center 31 Squash Team Banquet, TBD, Harvard Club of Boston APRIL 10 Men s Basketball Team Banquet, 6:00 p.m., Harvard Club of Boston 11 Men s Hockey Awards Dinner, 5:30/6:30 p.m., Harvard Club of Boston 12 Friends of Harvard Football Locke-Ober Dinner, invite only 13 Friends of Skiing Banquet, TBD, Charles Hotel 14 Friends of Track Board Meeting, 10:00 a.m., West Conference Room, Murr Center 14 Friends of Lacrosse Alumnae Weekend, 10:00 a.m. 21 Friends of Lacrosse Alumni Day, 10:00 a.m. 27 Friends of Baseball Inaugural Golf Classic, Pinehills Golf Club 28 Friends of Baseball Champions Reunion, 11:00 a.m., O Donnell Field Pavilion 30 Women s Water Polo Team Banquet, 6:00 p.m., Harvard Club of Boston For information on any of these events visit www.harvardvarsityclub.org or call our office at (617) 495-3535. FIRST CLASS HARVARD VARSITY CLUB, INC. Murr Center 65 North Harvard Street Boston, MA 02163-1012 (617) 495-3535 Fax: (617) 496-8296 www.harvardvarsityclub.org FIRST CLASS U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 53825