While sports fans regard fall as the coveted football season, as the NFL and NCAA run parallel, spring is the time for some of America’s most popular sports: baseball, softball, and lacrosse. This year, Harvard has seen success in many of its teams, from the most recognized to the least mainstream sports. With some teams finishing in April and more going into late May, here are the teams’ results to date.
Baseball:
The baseball team had a rough start to the season with a 16-game losing streak, which they eventually broke with a win against Holy Cross. They ended the season 14-28 after beating No. 1-ranked Yale and losing to No. 2-ranked Columbia in the Ivy League Tournament championship game.
Softball:
The softball team had a remarkable season. Ending with a 26-13 record, the team succeeded both in-conference (15-6) and out-of-conference (11-7) games. By the end of the period, they were ranked second in the Ivy League. Despite these successes, Crimson softball suffered two tough defeats in the Ivy tournament, against Columbia and then Princeton, ending their season.
Golf:
The golf teams start their season in September and compete until the Ivy League championship in April. The men’s and women’s teams’ year-long season saw ups and downs at their various invitationals. As they moved into the Ivy League championships, the women’s team finished second with a first-place individual finish from Vanessa Zhang ’28. The men’s team placed third with a second-place individual finish from Ieuan Jones ’28. After individually qualifying for regionals at the Ivy tournament, Zhang was a few shots at the NCAA regional finals away from making it to the NCAA championship tournament.
Lacrosse:
The No. 26 women’s and No. 11 men’s lacrosse teams had solid seasons, ending with 9-6 and 10-5 records, respectively. Despite a decent in-conference season, the women’s team barely missed qualifying for the Ivy Tournament, ending the year with a regular-season 18-4 win over Columbia. After qualifying for the Ivy League Tournament, the men’s team suffered an 8-11 loss to No. 3 Princeton. Going into the NCAA tournament, the men’s team had their season ended by No. 6 Syracuse. After taking a dominant lead of 8-2 in the first 2 quarters, Syracuse battled back to 12-12, which set the match into overtime, concluding in a 12-13 nail-biting win for Syracuse. Despite the upsetting end to the season, Sam King ’25 was recently announced as one of the five finalists for the top award in lacrosse, the Tewaaraton presented by the Tewaaraton Foundation. The official awardee will be announced on May 29.
Rowing:
Harvard’s four rowing teams have all had successful seasons. The No. 12 Radcliffe women’s open weight team garnered a clean sweep at the Big 10 tournament across all events. However, they struggled at the Ivy League tournament, with the first eight-man team getting sixth, the second and third eight-man teams getting fourth, and the two four-man teams getting fourth. Despite this, they garnered a bid to the NCAA Championship. Radcliffe lights has earned podium finishes for almost all of their spring events. Most recently at the Eastern Sprints, the lightweights took a second-place finish in the eight and four-man A races, third in four-man B, and a sixth-place finish in the double.
The No. 1 Harvard men’s heavies have dominated their season with their 1V, 2V, and 3V, earning first at almost all spring events, and 4V getting podium at all of their events. The crews are top contenders in the upcoming events. The lightweight men’s rowing team has earned 1st place finishes all spring for their 1V and 2V teams, along with top-three finishes for their 3V squad at all events. All teams will go on to their respective national championships, with the women’s open weight at the NCAA’s and the rest attending Intercollegiate Rowing Association events.
Women’s Rugby 7’s:
After a championship win for their fall complete 15-man season, the team had a consistent 7-man season. The team placed third and second at the Crimson and Emperor 7’s, respectively. They then finished second to Dartmouth in the Ivy League championship. Finally, the team ended with a 5th place finish at the CRAA National 7’s tournament. They will return in the fall to defend their reigning national title for the 15’s.
Sailing:
The Harvard women’s and co-ed sailing teams have had a tumultuous season with what hopefully will be a strong finish. The sailing crew took home a first-place win at the ICSA Open Team Race National Championships, along with a women’s team race third-place finish. The teams will now look forward to their ICSA semifinals and finals, competing from May 22 to 29.
Tennis:
The men’s and women’s tennis teams both maintained winning seasons. The No. 21 men’s team went 20-7 and 5-2 (conference), and the women’s team went 15-9 but undefeated in the Ivy League. Both advanced to the NCAA tournaments, where the women’s team suffered a first-round loss to No. 17 UCLA. The men’s team secured a 4-0 win over No. 37 Washington before losing 0-4 to No. 10 Arizona.
Track and Field:
The men’s and women’s teams concluded the indoor season in March with the women’s team securing an 11th-place finish at the NCAA championships. After indoor, track and field moves outside with invitationals starting just a week after indoor championships. After competing in 14 outdoor invitationals, with second-place finishes at the Ivy League championships, Harvard T&F will go on to compete at the NCAA East Region First Round, May 28 to 31. Following this meet, they will hopefully continue to the NCAA outdoor championships from June 11 to 14.
Men’s Volleyball:
The No. 31 men’s volleyball team has maintained a turbulent season. They had a 9-15 overall record, and as one of Harvard’s only teams not within an Ivy League conference, they had a 5-7 record in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Going into the conference tournament, the team’s season came to an end with a 0-3 loss to No. 22 Penn State.
Women’s Water Polo:
The No. 10 women’s water polo team’s season culminated with a 26-7 record. The team added major wins against No. 15 UC Santa Barbara, No. 13 Princeton, No. 11 UC San Diego, and No. 14 University of Michigan to its resume. After the regular season, the team took home its first-ever Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship with two overtime wins against the University of Michigan and the University of Princeton. The team lost to No. 4 USC at the NCAA tournament.
Harvard athletics had a massive year across the board, and spring season athletics certainly did not disappoint. Follow the Harvard athletics page as team results pour in from the upcoming competitions.
Kalvin Frank ’28 (kfrank@college.harvard.edu) says Roll Crimson.