Sports

THIS WEEKEND’S SCORES MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PRINCETON W, 61-60 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. SAINT FRANCIS W, 3-2 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S LACROSSE AT COLORADO L, 9-7 ___________________________________________________________ WRESTLING VS. BROWN L, 18-19 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S SWIMMING IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHP 2ND ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PRINCETON L, 45-66 ___________________________________________________________ SOFTBALL VS. UMASS LOWELL W, 2-1 ___________________________________________________________

Harvard Earns Weekend Sweep with 69-65 Win MEN’S BASKETBALL

By HENRY ZHU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Trailing for much of the first half to a hungry Quakers side, the Harvard men’s basketball team rallied in a second-frame offensive flurry to complete its weekend sweep. Combined with a 2-0 weekend against Columbia and Cornell last weekend, Harvard (18-7) now sits second at 7-3 in conference play and separates itself from both Penn and Brown in the Ivy standings.

Both senior forward Chris Lewis and sophomore guard Noah Kirkwood notched 19 points, but this 69-65 victory over Penn (13-10, 5-5 Ivy) was a complete team effort. Firstyears Idan Tretout and Chris Ledlum provided energetic minutes off the bench, while senior guard Justin Bassey added a dozen onto the scoring sheet. “The theme for us going into this weekend was the little things, little things make big players and lead to big wins,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “We knew Penn was wounded coming in here [after Friday’s loss to Dartmouth]. I thought our guys were up for the challenge and the big second half was a tremendous effort by our entire team.”

The contest, held over Alumni and Junior Family Weekend, was the second consecutive sell-out at Lavietes Pavilion. Prominent Harvard Basketball alumni in attendance included Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. More importantly for Crimson fans, this marks the 10th straight home win this season, and Harvard needs just two more victories — against Brown and Yale — to cap off a perfect regular season mark at home.

“I think this weekend just meant a lot more to us, regardless [of whether] it was home or away,” Kirkwood said. “We really needed these two wins, and I think it just made it better that it was home... I think we just have a little bit of extra energy as a team to really show up for our fans and supporters.”

The competition served as a potential preview to the backand-forth excitement of the postseason tournament — no team lead by more than eight points, while the two rivals jabbed for 11 total lead changes. Collectively, the Quakers shot significantly better from deep (10-of-25 compared to Harvard’s 4-of-18), but the Crimson countered by out-rebounding Penn by 12 boards and elevating its offense in the second frame. Harvard shot 56.7 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, pulling away to its largest margin of 8 with about four-and-a-half left to play.

Penn’s limited seven-man rotation saw double-digit performances from first-years Jordan Dingle and Max Martz as well as seniors Devon Goodman and AJ Brodeur, but no player in particular found extended success. Dingle knocked down three triples to lead the Quakers’ scoring at halftime, but was subsequently limited to just four points in the second half. “They shot the ball incredibly well in the first half, and we just kind of mentioned to our guys and we just weren’t thinking that they could keep that up with the defensive pressure that we thought we could bring in the second half,” Amaker said. Much like the first tilt at the Palestra, the Crimson was beleaguered by a sluggish start, converting on just one basket in its first eight field goal attempts. A vibrant Penn crowd led by its traveling band provided an early dose of energy for the Quakers, but Harvard’s offense gradually came to life — both sides saw the lead flip-flop five times in the first 10 minutes of play.

While senior big Chris Lewis could not get anything going against Princeton’s Richmond Aririguzoh on Friday night, the Alpharetta, Ga., native benefited from a less formidable matchup against Penn junior forward Jarrod Simmons, quickly eclipsing his 2-point showing

BROOMSTICKS OUT Noah Kirkwood put up 19 points against Penn, bringing his total to 30 in the weekend sweep. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

against the Tigers with an andone finish at the 8-minute mark. Typically manned by Penn’s AJ Brodeur, Quakers coach Steve Donahue elected to match his prized senior on Harvard’s Rob Baker instead.

Lewis would finish the first half with 10 points and largely carried most of the offensive load for the Crimson in the frame.

“I think his mentality, you know, talking with him and just us rallying around him — telling him even though he didn’t have a great game on Friday that we’re still rocking with him,” Bassey said. “He’s still our guy, we are still playing inside out.” The two sides continued to keep things knotted at 15, 17, and 22 heading into the final four minutes of the frame. But a four-point play from Dingle proved to be an important pendulum, propelling Penn to an extended 11-5 run to end the half. Penn shot at an impressive 58 percent rate from the field in that frame — compared to Harvard’s 33 percent — as it took a 33-27 lead into halftime. The Quakers converted on 7 of their last 9 field goals entering the break.

Both sides logged buckets at an electrifying pace to begin the second frame. A total of 18 combined points were scored by the first media timeout as Kirkwood catalyzed the Crimson with two steals and two baskets. Penn reciprocated in due fashion, maintaining its advantage to push the score to 40-38 by the five minute mark.

But the tide seemed to turn soon after, as Bassey followed up an aggressive drive to the rim with a top-of-the-arc triple to give Harvard its first lead since the six-minute mark of the first half. Kirkwood continued his early-half intensity, finishing two more opportunities at the rim.

It took a second push, this time catapulted by a charge on Brodeur from first-year Idan Tretout, for the Harvard lead to be more comfortable. Tretout would blaze by his defender for a lefty layup, followed by a Bassey up-and-under layup off of his own missed three that brought the Lavietes crowd to its feet with a 6-point lead at the 8:18 mark.

“[Idan Tretout]’s been playing amazing and practice, and I think that’s a big part of why he’s playing so well now,” Kirkwood said. “The coaching staff knows he has been hooping. We really believe in him, and I think it goes without saying like when you go into a game without much rhythm and you can still make an impact. It shows his kind of character and it’s testament of who he is as a player.” The Crimson, benefiting from a fourth foul drawn on Goodman, held tight to its six-margin and handed the keys to its regular starters to close the game.

Penn cut the lead back to three with one minute left to play, but after a Kirkwood giveaway, Dingle was unable to convert a fast-break three. The Quakers fouled Bassey, and he sank one of two for a 69-65 lead. Penn could not score in its final possession, and the Crimson let out a collective exhale to cap off a 4-0 homestand.

Both Lewis and Kirkwood earned strong praise from Amaker in completing the much-needed weekend sweep. “I can’t say enough about Chris Lewis, especially after a tough night last night, how he bounced back tonight and just had a tremendous game for us. You can see what Kirkwood does for our team we just get a lot of confidence from him, as we did with Bryce in terms of [being] that kind of scoring player. You get confidence from those kinds of guys. So just a tremendous effort by our ballclub and proud of our guys for a great weekend.”

henry.zhu@thecrimson.com

No. 20 Harvard Ousted by St. Lawrence on the Road MEN’S ICE HOCKEY

FALLING FLAT Just one day after a marquee win over No. 5/6 Clarkson, the Crimson suffered its most disappointing loss of the season at the hands of the saints on Satuday. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By SPENCER R. MORRIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Ahead of Saturday night, the Harvard men’s hockey team had not claimed four points on its North Country road trip since 2016-2017. It had a prime chance to overwrite that fact, as it had already pocketed an impressive win against No. 5/6 Clarkson the night prior.

But the No. 20 Crimson (12- 9-6, 10-5-5 ECAC) fell to St. Lawrence, 6-3, despite the wide disparity between the squads’ conference rankings.

With the upset victory, the Saints (4-24-4, 2-17-1) picked up just their second ECAC triumph and, amazingly, their first win at Appleton Arena this season. “The hungrier team was on the other side of the ice,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “We had talked pretty extensively as to what we were going to see: a proud group of seniors on senior night…. We expected them to come out with some emotion and energy and passion, and they did. Quite frankly, we didn’t respond to it very well.”

For the Crimson, the disappointing setback ends a 10- game winning streak against St. Lawrence dating back to Feb. 20, 2015.

From the opening puck drop, the Saints controlled play with their physicality and sustained offensive-zone pressure. Fast-forward to the final five minutes of the second period, and St. Lawrence sophomore Kaden Pickering found twine for his team’s fourth tally.

Harvard failed to break the puck out of its zone cleanly, and the shifty forward took advantage, beating Crimson net-minder Mitchell Gibson (5 GA, .839 SV%) on a follow-up chance.

“I don’t think that the final score is something that we can say we deserved better [than], because we didn’t,” coach Donato said. “We got outplayed. They had more chances, more passion, and for us to think anything else would be foolish.”

An overwhelming first 40 minutes from the Saints, punctuated by Pickering’s game-winner, proved too much to recover from. Harvard made things interesting in the third period, though.

Down 4-0, the visitors potted a powerplay goal five minutes into the final frame, courtesy of freshman forward John Farinacci’s wrist shot from the slot. After a quick response from St. Lawrence, the Crimson once again trimmed the deficit to three scores when junior forward Henry Bowlby slid a turnaround shot low on senior goaltender Daniel Mannella (3 GA, .900 SV%).

Harvard’s greatest sign of life in the third came after freshman defenseman Ryan Siedem’s shorthanded tuck. Junior centerman Jack Badini found a crashing Siedem from behind the net for a tap-in.

With two and a half minutes to go in regulation, coach Donato pulled Cameron Gornet (0 GA, 1.000 SV%), who replaced Gibson after the Saints’ fifth lamp-lighter, for the extra attacker. But the comeback effort ended there.

“We knew we had to push, no matter what the scenario was,” Crimson captain Nathan Krusko said. “We were able to continue to grab some momentum. I thought our third period was resilient…. We did make a strong push, but at the end of the day, you can’t dig yourself that big of a hole and expect to get out of it.”

The Saints stung the Crimson in the first minute of the game. After a keep-in at the blue line and effective cycling along the wall, junior forward Callum Cusinato fed sophomore Andrew McIntyre from behind the net. McIntyre bumped the puck past the left pad of Gibson to stun the heavily favored visitors.

The ice-breaker was emblematic of St. Lawrence’s formidable performance, in which it threw both shots and bodies at the Crimson. And the Saints were not finished doing damage in the frame.

An oppressive offensive-zone shift culminated in sophomore forward David Jankowski cashing in on an exhausted five Harvard skaters. Jankowski’s third of the season cued the roars from within Appleton Arena, as the hosts mounted an early two-goal lead on a ranked opponent despite entering the contest in dead last in the Pairwise rankings.

“We knew they were going to come out hard,” Krusko said. “We were just hesitant and slow to get to our game. We had a lot of guys expecting someone else to make the big play…and that showed out with our tough and slow start.”

So, St. Lawrence punched the Crimson in the mouth early and continued its dominance through the second stanza.

Overall, its six goals on Saturday represent a season high. And despite the Saints’ lackluster record in 2019-2020, the hometown crowd was raucous upon witnessing its only victory on familiar ice this year — on senior night no less.

Harvard’s loss soils the emotional high of Friday’s statement win over the Golden Knights. The program, still with its eyes on a top-four finish in the ECAC, will close out its regular-season slate at home next weekend.

SPORTS

WEEKLY RECAP SCORES

MEN’S LACROSSE AT. RV W, 10-9 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY VS. ST. LAWRENCE W,3-0 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. BU W, 5-0 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S TENNIS VS. BU W,5-0 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AT PENN L,70-48 ________________________________________________________ SOFTBALL AT FORDHAM L, 3-2 __________________________________________________________ MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. PENN STATE L, 3-0 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S SQUASH Squash Wins Sixth Consecutive Championship

By ELIOT MIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

After taking a commanding 2-0 game lead against her opponent, No.1 Princeton University’s Elle Ruggiero, Harvard co-captain Gina Kennedy found herself in a 7-7 deadlock in game three. However, she buckled down and attacked Ruggiero with a flurry of vicious crosscourts and tight drop shots to go up 10-7, eventually winning the game with a backhand drop to secure the critical first-seed matchup for the Crimson.

Kennedy’s strong effort was one of Harvard’s six victories in its 6-1 thumping of Princeton in the finals of the Howe Cup on Sunday. With the victory, the squad completed its sixth straight undefeated season and claimed its sixth straight national championship title.

According to Kennedy, the team’s ability to remain cool amidst high expectations was key to their eventual championship.

“I think we were expected to win,” Kennedy said. “But we’re just so humbled by the fact that [we] won. Because we’ve won the last [few] years in a row, there’s obviously a lot of pressure to make sure that we will perform our best.”

The team’s relentless work ethic and commitment to practice were also instrumental to its success, according to both Kennedy and Harvard coach Mike Way.

“I’m just so proud of the team because everyone puts in so much work every single day,” Kennedy said. “And [they] always perform so well when it comes to crunch time. So yeah, just really proud and extremely happy right now.” “You won’t find a more proud coach than I am,” Way said. “Of [associate head coach Hameed Ahmed and assistant coach Luke Hammond], the captains, and the whole squad, and the fact that they put up with me and all my repetition, which is what we coaches are about.”

First-year Brittany Sun, who became aware of Harvard’s championship streak while she was in high school, described her first season on the squad — and being a part of the team’s eventual victory — as “surreal.” “I just heard about Harvard’s amazing streak of winning nationals, year after year,” Sun said. “The feeling’s pretty surreal when you’re actually on the team [and you] experience it for yourself because you’ve always read about it and seen it, [but] for the first time you’re actually here to experience it, which is a pretty incredible experience.” The Crimson faced stiff competition on its path to the championship. Before facing off against Princeton, Harvard had to make its way through the fourth-seed Trinity College Bantams. Although the tough semifinal matchup threatened to throw Harvard off balance, the squad played well and parlayed the momentum into an equally strong performance in the finals match, according to Way.

“I think [playing against Trinity in the semifinals] gave them confidence because they played well,” Way said. “They executed the plan [and] that actually gave them a little boost of confidence for today. So it was good to have a tough match yesterday, and to be tested by Trinity — I think it helped us today.” With a 3-0 sweep of her opponent to help Harvard claim

SQUASHING THE COMPETITION The women’s squash team ended its sixth straight undefeated season with a victory over Princeton. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

another title, Kennedy put the final touches on a glittering squash career at Harvard. With her time as a Crimson athlete coming to an end, Kennedy has taken the time to reflect on her experience as a member of the squad, especially as a captain in her final year.

“We just wanted to focus a lot on making sure everyone was clear in the game plan and preparing well,” Kennedy said. “Like I said, everyone’s just got such a high work ethic — it was really easy to lead this team.”

This year, Kennedy led the team alongside co-captain Amelia Henley. Kennedy and Henley have been playing squash together since they were both ten years old. They end their time playing alongside each other with four championships in four years.

“We’ve both kind of been on a huge journey with squash together,” Kennedy said. “From playing in the same county when we were younger, coming to Harvard together and then being able to co-captain the Harvard squash team together. It just seemed right and it was the perfect way to end my time on the team.”

As the curtain falls on yet another stellar season by the Crimson, the team looks to the Individual National Championships. In two weeks, six to eight Harvard players will make their way down to the University of Pennsylvania to compete against the nation’s top collegiate players.

Match draws and tournament information will be released the week of the tournament.

eliot.min@thecrimson.com

WOMEN’S SWIM AND DIVE Harvard Breaks Program Records at Ivy Championships

By ZING GEE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Providence, R.I. — The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team finished the four-day-long Ivy League Championships this past Saturday at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center at Brown University. Many program records and several pool records were broken as the Crimson placed second with 1462 points to Princeton with 1569 in the league championship meet.

Right out of the gate, on day one of competition, first-year Felicia Pasadyn, junior Jaycee Yegher, first-year Adaline Rose Bullock, and senior Mei Lynn Colby swam a 1:37.81 for first in the 200-yard medley relay, beating Princeton at the wall by five hundredths of a second and setting a new Harvard program record by two seconds.

Shortly after, one of the highlights of the entire competition occurred in the 800-yard freestyle relay as the Crimson squad — consisting of senior tri-captain Miki Dahlke, sophomore Samantha Shelton, junior Kennidy Quist, and Pasadyn — finished in 6:59.92, putting up the fourth-best time in the nation this season. This earned them an NCAA A-cut qualifying spot, while destroying another program record set two years ago (7:05.06) by more than five seconds — and setting a new Ivy League meet record.

It will be the first time since 1998 that a Harvard women’s relay will compete at the NCAA Division I Championship meet. Reflecting on how hard the quartet trained for the relay, Pasadyn said, “Watching each other come into practice every day with a goal in mind allowed us to have faith in each other when the race rolled around … the race was incredible — I had tears in my eyes seeing that determination and dedication pay off.”

Pasadyn was named one of the three High Point Swimmers of the Meet after continuing to dominate throughout the competition. After day one’s relays, she went on to win the 200-yard IM over Princeton’s Christie Chong by two seconds, setting a program and pool record of 1:55.88.

She continued her trips to the podium on day three, winning her second individual Ivy League champion honors in the 400-yard individual medley with a commanding 4:08.47, another pool and program record. On night four, she won her third individual event with a program and Ivy League meet best 1:52.56 in the 200-yard back

stroke.

Dahlke also continued to have a fantastic meet, winning the 200-yard butterfly with a program record time of 1:55.51, and taking second in the 500- yard free with a program-best 4:39.30. She then won 100-yard butterfly Ivy League champion honors — in 51.88 — for the third year in a row, beating her own program record by a hundredth of a second, setting a pool record, and earning an NCAA B-cut time.

Dahlke was named the Career High Point Swimmer at the end of the meet.

Both swimmers also competed in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Shelton and Quist, as well as in the 400-yard medley relay with Yegher and Quist. On the fourth and final night, the 400-yard free relay registered another NCAA A-cut qualifying time of 3:14.48, setting yet another Harvard, Ivy League meet, and pool record. The 400-yard medley relay also clinched first, with a program record of 3:32.72.

Crimson divers played a key role in the team’s success as sophomore Morgane Herculano placed first with a score of 292.05 points on the 1-meter board. First-years Evie Geier and Elizabeth Miclau also reached the podium, placing sixth and eighth, respectively. Later on, junior diver Georgina Milne won the 3-meter diving title with a season- and career-best score of 323.25. Sophomore Esther Lawrence placed third with 309.70, and first-year Elizabeth Miclau finished fourth with 308.00. When asked about the season so far, Herculano said, “I performed well in meets, but most of all I have had so much fun at practice every day with my teammates. As a team we’ve all been working really hard at practice, pushing and supporting each other, and I believe that our performance at Ivies reflects that dedication.” Senior Mei Lynn Colby came 13 hundredths of a second from beating a seven-year program record in the 50-yard freestyle, swimming 22.58. Colby also swam in the 200-yard freestyle relay with Quist, first-year Darlene Fung, and Dahlke, who broke a three-year-old program record by seven hundredths of a second with a time of 1:29.80. The barrage of program records continued when Yegher captured first in the 100-yard breastroke in 59.76, and firstyear Adaline Rose Bullock won the 100-yard backstroke in 53.55, an NCAA B-cut qualifying time. Yegher also captured first in the 200-yard breaststroke, with yet another Harvard, Ivy, and pool record of 2:08.47.

“Qualifying for NCAAs is always a challenge because every year is different,” Herculano said, referencing the different pools and competition. “The main goal was definitely to perform at Ivies, and right now I can only say that I am extremely motivated, and that I am going to continue to work hard this spring.”

While Princeton snapped Harvard’s two-year reign as Ivy League Champions, the Crimson’s future is bright, and the season continues for several swimmers.

The NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will take place on March 18-21 at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Ga., and several divers will compete at NCAA Zones to qualify for the national meet.

“I can say that our grit and willingness to put in the work for a long term result will not cease because Ivies is over,” Pasadyn said, in reference to the meets ahead. “I am incredibly blessed to attend such a high-level meet with a group of empowering and dedicated women.”