Year in Sports 2022

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The Harvard Crimson

MAY 2022

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Year in Sports

HARVARD SPORTS RETURN GAME OF THE YEAR

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Table of Contents Year in Sports

Staff

SPORTS CHAIRS Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24 STAFF WRITERS Mairead B. Baker ’24 Aaron B. Shuchman ’24 Hannah Bebar ’24 Katharine A. Forst ’25 Caroline G. Gage ’25 Griffin H. Wong ’24 Dylan J. Goodman ’25 A.J. Dilts ’23 Nicholas Daley ’23

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHEHER

Oscar E. Mercado ’25 Shahmir Aziz ’25 Bridget T. Sands ’24 Zadoc I.N. Gee ’24 Callum J. Diak ’25 Noah A. Jun ’24 William Connaughton ’23 Amir Mamdani ’22 William C. Boggs ’22

WOMEN’S SOCCER FALL PREVIEW

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After one of its most successful seasons ever, women’s soccer is set to return with a strong team in Fall 2022.

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Harvard women’s squash has won seven CSA national titles in a row, and this year’s squad was headlined by three Egyptians.

EGYPTIAN SQUASH TRADITION

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WOMEN’S WATER POLO Harvard women’s water polo reached the CWPA championship game for the first time, led by Coach of the Year Ted Minnis.

ACER IVERSON & MATTHEW PEREIRA A dynamic distance duo finished first and second in the 10k at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.

DESIGN EDITOR Madison A. Shirazi ’23 PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Dylan J. Goodman ’25 Zing Gee ’23 PRESIDENT Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 MANAGING EDITOR Jasper G. Goodman ’23 BUSINESS MANAGER Amy X. Zhou ’23

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From the Editors

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his academic year brought the first normal competition since 2020. We have had the honor of chronicling Harvard’s triumphant return to action. Since March 10, 2020 — the day that athletics paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic — athletes and teams have endured canceled seasons, solo practices, and constant hits to team morale.

Nonetheless, the Crimson returned to the field, court, pitch, and pool with energy and force, proving this year to be one marked by resilience. For Harvard fans, it was worth the wait.

The two years of perseverance culminated in eight conference championship wins, 17 NCAA appearances, three national championship wins, and dozens individual standouts.

Here at Crimson Sports, we have had the opportu-

nity to cover it all.

Throughout the past two years, we all have made sacrifices, as we change our daily routines and deal with our newfound realities.

Harvard athletes have had to deal with all the challenges that we have off the field, all the while adjusting to a fundamentally different sports landscape and preparing for a return to intense competition. The determination and perseverance that they have displayed cannot be understated.

This Year in Sports issue seeks to tell the story of Harvard sports’ return, chronicling athletes’ incredible efforts in elevating Harvard athletics despite adversity and showcasing that, indeed, Crimson sports — and Crimson Sports — is back.

—ANW & GHW

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

The Best of 2021-2022 Game of the Year

Team of the Year

Coach of the Year

WINNER:

Football vs. Yale Nov. 20, 2021 (Pages 14-15)

WINNER:

WINNER:

Kathy Delaney-Smith, Women’s Basketball

Men’s Tennis (Pages 12-13)

(Page 20)

Athlete of the Year Rookie of the Year

FEMALE WINNER:

Ellie Shahbo Field Hockey (Pages 4-5)

MALE WINNER:

From the Sidelines

Nick Abruzzese Men’s Ice Hockey (Pages 6-7)

Photo Essay

(Pages 18-19)

FEMALE WINNER:

Lauren Scruggs Fencing (Pages 8-9)

MALE WINNER:

Sam King Men’s Lacrosse

Performance of the Year

(Pages 10-11)

Photo Essay FEMALE WINNER:

Best Sports Photos of the Year (Page 35)

Rebecca Gilmore Women’s Ice Hockey Parting Shots (Crimson Sports Board)

(Page 21)

Heartbreak of the Year MALE WINNERS:

WINNER:

Football vs. Princeton Oct. 23, 2021 (Pages 16-17)

Amir Mamdani (Pages 32-33)

William C. Boggs (Page 34)

Mitchell Gibson and Matthew Coronato Men’s Ice Hockey (Pages 22-23)

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The Harvard Crimson

Ellie Shahbo

Female Athlete of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Field Hockey

No. 1 in Net COURTESY OF ROGER HART

By MAIREAD B. BAKER

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

he Harvard field hockey team had a historic 2021 season, as it rewrote the record books by making it to the Final Four round of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey tournament for the first time in the program’s history. The Crimson ultimately lost to the eventual national champion, Northwestern, in a 2-1 overtime semifinal heartbreak.

A notable component of this No. 9 team that contributed to its Cinderella season was the strength of its defense, ranked top in the nation. Junior defensive powerhouse Ellie Shahbo anchored the defense

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Our season has been very successful, ... the Ivy League championship, the final four, beating those teams that we did. ue

TEAM RECAPS

Field Hockey

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With the highest goalie winloss percentage (.882), the top save percentage (.860), and best goals-against average score (.440), Shahbo is one of the most successful goalkeepers in all of collegiate field hockey.

Despite her first-rate statistics and the key role she played in bringing the team to a near-perfect 17-2 regular season record and an undefeated 7-0 Ivy League record, Shahbo credits the entirety of these titles to her team.

“I just think the team made me look

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really good, I don’t think it was a product of me,” remarked the Second Team All-American. “Our defense was flected well amazing, and that reon me. I don’t think it could have been done without everyone on the team contributing in the way that they did and being as supportive as they were…It was definitely a whole team effort, I can’t emphasize that enough.”

The team’s NCAA semifinal run was the most succesful finish it has had in the tournament since 2018, when the team made program history by reaching the quarterfinal round. Shahbo was a firstyear on this historic squad. At the end

Overall Record

Women’s Rugby

8 Save percentage of goalkeeper Ellie Shahbo, highest in the nation

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2 he NIRA

of that season, she was named Female Rookie of the Year, and throughout the fall she was critical in making seven saves in the first round matchup against Penn State to secure the program’s first NCAA tournament game victory in school history.

“I think [the team] has had an exponential growth that’s happened over the past four years,” Shahbo said. “My freshman year we won the Ivys and it was the first time we ever won a round of the tournament.”

It’s clear that something was different this year — Shahbo, alongside her teammates, faced a nearly 21-month hiatus away from competition due to the

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​​I’m proud to be leaving it in such a dominant place.

Harvard is expected to do great things ... for the next few years.

ERICA JARRELL Co-Captain

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13 Game win streak at home before NIRA National semifinal loss

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Covid-19 pandemic. The No. 1 team in the Ivy League came into its long-awaited return to the field strongly and swiftly, with Shahbo having four consecutive shutouts in early September. This lockdown defense kickstarted a promising momentum that never seemed to slow down even as the season went on.

“I think it was a combination of our team’s trajectory of getting a little better every year and that pure desire of wanting to be back on that field playing with each other again,” said Shahbo, who was named captain for the upcoming 2022 season. “It’s a credit to the girls on the team and the environment that our coaches create that allows for that growth and that support. We’ve had a crazy amount of talent, — this year everyone contributed and participated in a way that they were productive to the team.”

Though the time off before this special season limited the amount of competition, the absence of play ironically helped Shahbo, who believes it helped her to develop a greater appreciation for her sport and her team — an appreciation that will stick with her as she enters her final season with the Crimson.

“I think the time off really helped me reflect on what I missed, the team and sport I missed — it really just culminated in that season,” Shahbo said.

In her three seasons for the Crimson thus far, Shahbo has proven herself to be one of the nation’s top defensive threats in the net, and she has only gotten better.

In her first career start, she made 10 saves against the then-No. 3 Maryland, which was the most goals saved by any Harvard goalkeeper since 2015. Since then, Shahbo has continued to help the team climb the national rankings and garner a reputation for being one of the top defensive squads in the country.

“I don’t think I physically changed as a player drastically over the years,” Shabho said. “I think a lot of it is confidence and confidence in your teammates.”

What’s fundamental in the drive for success for Shahbo, however, is remembering to have fun.

“Performance drastically improves when you are having more fun — it’s just like you are enjoying the competition and not so uber-focused on yourself or your technical and tactical play,” Shahbo remarked.

This formula is part of what makes Shahbo unique, and it certainly played a major role in the team’s unprecedented success and progression to the Final Four.

The tournament itself brought many ups and downs — from back-and-forth flights to snow delays —, but Shahbo’s unwavering commitment to keeping her head in the game and working as a unit helped the Crimson remain confident in the fact that it not only had a special opportunity, but it also had what it took to win the entire torunament.

In the quarterfinal game of the NCAA championships against a strong Michigan squad, Shahbo stopped all three shots in the deciding penalty shootout after regulation play to punch Harvard field hockey’s first ever ticket to the semifinal round.

“It was very much an opportunity with no losing, to be honest,” Shahbo said.

“Even if we did lose, it was just an opportunity to perform and play well and play with each other.”

There’s no denying that Shahbo has racked up an impressive lineup of topranked statistics for herself and Harvard field hockey, but the skillful goalkeeper

pays little attention to these numbers. In fact, she continues to accredit them to her team.

“I find the statistics a little funky — I don’t know if they’re the best reflection,” Shahbo said. “I think focusing too much on the statistics is detrimental to anyone.

I really credit this team with our ability to learn from each other. Having those open, sometimes uncomfortable, discussions about how you’re playing and how you’re able to critique yourself and others is definitely one of the secret ingredients there.”

Shahbo is nothing short of a natural born leader — humble, optimistic, and magnificently talented. The Harvard field hockey program will feel an immense hole upon the end of her career on Berylson Field, with her final season for the Crimson coming up in a few months.

Nevertheless, her absence will not be felt solely based on her skill, but also because of her team-focused mindset and her dedication to leading her teammates, which has consistently brought Harvard to victory. mairead.baker@thecrimson.com

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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We have had different players step up at various times, and that is the mark of a great team.

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JENNY ALLARD Head Coach

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Baseball

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14 Straight seasons with at least a .500 record, longest streak at Harvard

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We’re headed in the right direction…that was the first regular season home game for three classes, so it was really good to just get out there. ue

Softball

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BEN ROUNDS Outfielder

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.42 On-base percentage for Logan Bravo, highest on the team

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Nick Abruzzese

Male Athlete of the Year

Men’s Ice Hockey

Ice in His Veins

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

erhaps no Harvard male athlete has seen more success in 2021-22 than former Harvard men’s ice hockey captain Nick Abruzzese, whose whirlwind season included playing for the U.S. Olympic team, winning an ECAC championship, and signing his first professional contract.

Abruzzese, a native of Slate Hill, N.Y., began his career in the North Jersey Avalanche youth program before joining the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League, the highest level of junior hockey in the U.S. With the Steel, he recorded 116 points (42 goals, 74 points) in 118 games over two seasons and was named an alternate captain. In June 2019, Abruzzese was selected in the fourth round — 124th overall — by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Abruzzese quickly rewarded the Maple Leafs’ selection with an outstanding first season at Harvard in 2019-2020, notching 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 31 games. After the season, he was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year while earning spots on the All-ECAC H o c k ey First Team and the ECAC All-Rookie Team.

Upon the Crimson’s return to play in 2021-22, Abruzzese was voted a team captain by his teammates, and he continued his collegiate career with a strong junior season, tallying 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) en route to being named Ivy League Player of the Year, earning another berth on

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Men’s Ice Hockey

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For how young we were and how many people probably wrote us off… it shows a lot where this program is going and the talent that we have.

CASEY DORNBACH Senior Captain and Forward

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OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Women’s Ice Hockey

.86 Abruzzese’s assists per game, 7th in the nation

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The heart and soul of this team is nothing to be reckoned with.

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TEAM RECAPS

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the All-ECAC Hockey First Team, and being named a First-Team All-American.

“At Harvard, the captains are elected by their peers, the other players on the team. I think it speaks to how others on the team felt about Nick as a leader and his character,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato said earlier this season. “We are very appreciative of the level of leadership and character that Nick brought every day into the program…having two classes of kids that haven’t played at the collegiate level. For us, I thought Nick, along with [co-captain senior forward] Casey Dornach, did an incredible job unifying the group and I thought Nick’s leadership was essential to the team’s success.”

Midway through his junior season in Cambridge, Abruzzese and teammate sophomore forward Sean Farrell were selected to play on Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics after the NHL declined to allow its players to participate.

Abruzzese recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in four games at the Olympic Games before the U.S. was eliminated by Slovakia in the tournament’s knockout round.

Abruzzese returned from the Olympics to play in the Crimson’s final two home games of the season, helping spur the team to a 4-3 win over Princeton on Feb. 18 and a 1-0 defeat of the No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats on Senior Night the fol-

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KATEY STONE Head Coach ns

By AARON B. SHUCHMAN

io hamp

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15 Beanpot victories as of this season

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Men’s Swim and Dive

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We have some great recruits coming in, so I’m really pumped to come back and sit in the stands to watch these guys.

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DEAN FARRIS Captain and Freestyle/Backstroke

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Whitelaw Cup and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

In the Crimson’s NCAA tournament game against Minnesota State, Harvard was faced with an early 3-0 deficit before Abruzzese’s line again connected to cut the deficit to 3-1 and energize the Crimson offense. First-year forward Alex Gaffney would score just seconds later to cut the deficit to 3-2. Despite later facing a 4-2 deficit in the third period, Harvard again responded with a goal, but a furious comeback attempt in the final seconds fell just short and the Crimson were eliminated from the tournament with the 4-3 loss.

“They were doing a good job of getting in lanes,” Abruzzese said after the game.

“They didn’t make it easy on us all night and the last 20 seconds was kind of a microcosm of that.”

It would prove to be his final appearance in a Harvard uniform, as his strong performance earned him the opportu-

Women’s Swim and Dive

9 Top-16 finishes and five new school records at NCAA DI Championships

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Abruzzese was dominant in Harvard’s 5-3 semifinal victory over the Clarkson Golden Knights, recording two goals and two assists to lead the Crimson into the championship game. After assisting on Farrell’s opening goal midway through the first period, Abruzzese put the Crimson on top 2-1 midway through the second period when he batted a loose puck out of the air and into the net after a shot by firstyear defenseman Ian Moore.

Despite facing a 3-2 deficit entering the third period, Abruzzese and his linemates took over the game, as the co-captain tied the game at 3-3 by jamming in a rebound before making a spinning backhand pass to assist Coronato on the goahead goal to put Harvard up for good. In the ECAC title game the next day, Abruzzese’s line continued to click, producing a goal to put the Crimson up 2-1 in the second period and later connecting on Coronato’s overtime winner to secure the

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nity to take his talents to the next level.

Days after the tournament loss, the Maple Leafs announced they had signed Abruzzese to a two-year entry level contract worth $850,000 per season. He made his NHL debut on April 4 at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he played just over nine minutes on 15 shifts. He recorded his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins in Toronto’s final regular season game of the year when he deflected Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly’s shot past Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman.

“Nick’s getting a chance to utilize his talents and his hard work and dedication to live out his dream,” said Donato after Abruzzese’s contract was announced.

“It’s exciting for us as coaches, it’s exciting for his fellow teammates, and we certainly are really wishing him the very best.” aaron.shuchman@thecrimson.com

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Hosting the 2022 meet at Blodgett was absolutely surreal. I’ve never seen a group of 40 women rally behind each other like we did that week. ue

lowing evening. Those victories secured a first-round bye and first-round home ice advantage in the ECAC postseason tournament, the first time Harvard was able to participate since prior to the pandemic.

In the first round of the ECAC playoffs against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Abruzzese recorded three points (one goal, two assists) to guide the Crimson to a thrilling 2-1 series victory to move on to the semifinals. In Game 1, Harvard erased a 3-0 deficit in the final two minutes of the game, with Abruzzese assisting on first-year forward Matthew Coronato’s game-tying goal with 15 seconds to play in regulation. The Crimson would ultimately go on to win the game in overtime. After dropping Game 2 to the Engineers, 4-3, in double overtime, Abruzzese recorded an assist on another Coronato goal that secured a 3-1 Game 3 victory for the Crimson, which sent it to the ECAC semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.

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ATHENA YE Freestyle/Butterfly/Backstroke

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16 All-Ivy Honors at the Ivy League Championships

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The Harvard Crimson

Lauren Scruggs

Female Rookie of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Women’s Fencing

Foiling the Competition, Scruggs is Here to Stay Scruggs, who is just 19, has amassed four gold medals at Junior Cha mpion sh ips , a firstplace finish at the North

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

here were many talented first-years on Harvard rosters this year, but none shined brighter than foil fencer Lauren Scruggs, who has seen success on the national and world stages.

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Scruggs adjusted to working with a new and coach a new team — one that produced five All-Americans in its last season. “This year was about adjusting to the balance of college fencing. I thought I had a good season in light of all that,” she said.

Scruggs was quick to note that her success this year could not have been possible without the support of her teammates and coaches. “The upperclassmen really helped with the adjustment,” she said. “A lot of them had the same experience as I do on the national team. Hear-

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Men’s Fencing

1 Individual NCAA sabre title

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FILIP DOLEGIEWICZ Sabre

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ing from them how to balance school really helped.”

Another contributor to the team’s success: women’s fencing head coach Daria Schneider, who won a U.S. Fencing national title in 2011 and won Ivy League Co-Coach of the Year with Cornell in 2018 before moving to Harvard prior to the 2021-22 season. “[Schneider] does a lot to make sure everyone has their needs accounted for,” Scruggs said. “I can always go to her if I have a problem, which I really appreciate. She is very understanding with our personal lives and that we have other things going on outside of fencing. Overall, we have a coaching staff who really cares.”

The support and team culture has helped Scruggs become a better person and a better fencer, she said. “Lauren is hugely inspirational. She is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met, and I notice that she rarely complains or even discusses how hard she’s working— she does her job while also being a fun and positive presence on the team,” added teammate and first-year epee fencer Emily Vermeule on the impact Scruggs has had on the program.

Despite her youth, Scruggs carries plenty of experience to the international stage, managing her stress and nerves

[You must] keep your head straight and stay focused the entire time .

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TEAM RECAPS

COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION

American Cup National Championships, a second-place team finish at the NCAA National Championships, and second team All-America standing. She continues to add to this list of achievements through the hard work, perseverance, and dedication she has shown throughout her stellar rookie season.

Scruggs transitioned to collegiate fencing this past year, bringing much experience from the international competition to college. Scruggs was the youngest US fencer to win a gold medal at Junior Championships, competing in the U20 division at just 16-yearsold in 2019. This fall,

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By HANNAH BEBAR

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Overall Record

1 Individual NCAA sabre title

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

in the moment. Her previous bouts have taught her how to manage big moments at such a young age with confidence and fortitude. “Learning how to manage through injury and fence with that has helped me this season,” she said. “I listen to a lot of music before I fence because it helps me get out of my head. I wouldn’t say I am prone to a lot of stress during competition, but when I am, music really helps.”

Looking to the future, Scruggs hopes that she can take her junior success to

the next level. “I really want to improve on the senior level,” she said. “I want to continue to do better at those senior tournaments. It is one of my hopes going forward.”

Scruggs recently traveled to Dubai to compete in the Junior World Championships. In the United Arab Emirates, she earned her second gold medal after also winning in Toruń, Poland, in 2019. She has one more year of eligibility in the U20 class, and will hope to defend her title

in 2023. Her performance in worldwide competition lands her in contention for the national team squad that will represent the United States in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The Queens, N.Y., native returns home this summer to strive toward that goal.

She will fence under her previous youth coach, with another task to balance: her summer internship. Just as Scruggs took on the challenge of collegiate fencing, managing a job along with fencing

COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION

Women’s Volleyball

I’m really excited because our team is not only talented, but we also have that competitive drive and chemistry which is something unique. ue

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Katie Vorhies Outside Hitter

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hannah.bebar@thecrimson.com

COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION

Men’s Volleyball

40 Years that the program has been in existence

is something a fencer of her caliber must take in stride.

“I will probably go in at least three times a week,” Scruggs said. “I will be training a lot to improve and take it into the next season, which helps a lot when I’m training with my coach.” With three more years of college eligibility and her transition from the youth to senior within eyesight, Scruggs is taking it day by day.

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I’m proud of what the program has done this year after having basically a full year off.

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ERIC LI Outside Hitter

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5 Players who received AllEIVA honors, the most since 2014

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The Harvard Crimson

Sam King

Male Rookie of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Men’s Lacrosse

King of the Castle

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

arvard has produced a slew of famous and accomplished athletes. The small school size coupled with the fact that it has the most Division I programs of any school in the nation means that student-athletes comprise about 20 percent of Harvard’s current student body. Harvard has a long history of competing with some of the best athletics programs in the country, and its teams have won more than 150 national titles. However, among Crimson squads, the men’s lacrosse team is unique because it is largely led by freshmen.

Men’s Lacrosse

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This has been the greatest five years of my life, and I’m really lucky to have had it.

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CHARLIE OLMERT Senior Midfielder and Captain

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Women’s Lacrosse

Goals allowed, the 2nd fewest in the Ivy League

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the team who also manage busy schedules, and King has found much motivation from interaction with his professors.

On the field, King has proven to be a phenomenal first-year starter. He broke into the lineup, rounding out the attacking trio of junior Hayden Cheek and senior Austin Madronic. King finished the season with 46 points – 25 goals and 21 assists – as well as 16 ground balls and seven forced turnovers. His explosiveness behind the cage, ability to scan the field, and quarterback from behind instantly garnered media coverage and often drew him the toughest matchup.

“Being behind the goal, you can see everything that’s happening in front of the goal with the middies and the other two attackmen,” he said. “So, I think that being the X attackman comes with having to understand what we are doing on offense, and seeing what the right play is to make at the right time.”

Off the field King has developed his bond with his teammates through his band Steep Grade, which he started with senior goalie Kyle Mullin.

“We started it this fall, in November.

We were asked to play at a small little event here, and so we just one day started practicing with each other, and had a ton of fun playing, and then we kind of gelled really well,” he explained. “We became really good friends first and foremost, and then started playing a lot of music and building that relationship. We’ll be doing that a lot this summer. I’m going to be living in Philadelphia, so hopefully we’ll be able to play a lot.”

Participating in extracurriculars with his teammates has allowed King to form bonds that translate into peak performances on the field. Even though Mul-

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They are really eager.

They want to keep learning. They want to keep competing. They have a vision for this program.

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TEAM RECAPS

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Head coach Gerry Byrne took over the helm of the men’s lacrosse team in 2019, and has helped Harvard draw in some high-level recruits.

First-year attacker Sam King, a 2022 All-Ivy Honorable Mention, is one of those recruits. King was ranked as the 21st overall recruit in the nation by Inside Lacrosse during his recruiting process, and he is one of just many highly-regarded players that Byrne has been able to bring into Harvard’s ranks. In the 2021 recruiting class (first-years on the 2022 team), Byrne pulled five top-100 players.

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King hails from Baltimore, Md., a state known for producing elite lacrosse talent.

The Gilman School graduate was drawn onto the circuit by his older siblings, two sisters and a brother, who all played at the Division III level. His brother played at Middlebury and his sisters played at Colorado College and Sewanee. Although his parents didn’t play growing up, and his dad had actually never heard of the sport until moving to the East Coast, King got started from a young age, playing for both youth and club teams.

A three-year varsity letter winner (four-year varsity hockey player as well), captain of the squad his senior year, Under Armour All-American his senior year, All-MIAA selection in 2019, and the most valuable player for Gilman in 2019, King has a long resume of accolades that confirm his excellence on the field. He developed his skills both in youth leagues and as a member of Looney’s club team, a travel team based out of Baltimore.

His passion for the sport earned him an initial commitment to Denver University. King emphasizes that his recruiting process was non-traditional in that he actually switched his verbal commitment during his junior year.

“After my spring season, and the summer, I started looking at some other places, one of them being Harvard,” King explained. “Coach Byrne and all he’s doing, as well as Harvard as a university, made the decision kind of a no-brainer.”

As a recruited athlete, King has to balance his time on the lacrosse field with his time in the classroom. So far, due to his commitment to a rigid and disciplined schedule, he has found success both academically and athletically. His consistency is inspired by the fifty other men on

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DEVON WILLS Head Coach

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3 Players who received First Team All-Ivy nods

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

lin leads the defense and King is an offensive player, the two connected well on the clear throughout the season when Mullin would look to override an aggressive press by flinging a long-ball downfield to King, who, in their set play, would stretch the field and get open at the opposite endline.

Their band also has provided an outlet for the team to come together and support the duo, which created bonding experiences for the guys to cheer them on and thus fostered more cohesion in their sets.

His ability to lead in the room and to inspire classother students has

translated into his successes on the field.

He stood out in the team’s comeback performance against Princeton, in which he contributed to five points; he scored three goals and added two assists. He totaled nine points, six goals and three assists, against Dartmouth, and had a career-high five assists against Fairfield. He quarterbacked the offense through all of these contests, and ran point on many of the team’s sets.

King took a semester off to preserve his athletic eligibility when the Ivy League announced that it would not allow athletes to compete in the 2021 lacrosse season. During his leave, King lived in Georgia

for about two months before working on an oyster farm for the rest of his semester.

“My grandparents live down in Chestertown, so I’ve always loved the culture of the Chesapeake Bay, fishing and hunting and stuff like that. So I emailed this oyster company, joined them, and learned a ton about oyster farming and the Chesapeake Bay,” he explained.

On and off the field, King is a vital part of a young Harvard squad that, after reaching the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend, should have a bright future for at least

the next few years. Of the 49 players on the team, only six are graduating, and the team is expecting about ten new recruits to join in the fall. This means that the majority of the starting talent will continue to be developed by Coach Byrne in the coming seasons. The leadership of the graduating senior class has helped pave the way for what King hopes will be more runs to the collegiate tournament in the years to come.

“All of the older guys, Austin, Hayden on attack, have been an amazing part of it all,” King said. “They’re super helpful and are great leaders and upperclassmen.” katharine.forst@thecrimson.com

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Wrestling

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in the EIWA

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We have the right guys in the right places, and I really think we probably [have] more talent than I’ve ever seen in my short career here.

JAY WEISS Head Coach

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Overall Record

8 EIWA Academic Achievement Awards, most in the Ivy League

Sticking to what we know, our playbook, what we practice consistently… allowed us to win.

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in the ICSA

CHRIS WANG Junior

8 First-place finishes in races throughout the season

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The Harvard Crimson

Team of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Men’s Tennis

Court Is In Session

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

he No. 14 Harvard men’s tennis team finished a stellar season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on May 7, falling to Stanford in a close 4-3 match. The Crimson went undefeated in conference competition, securing its 30th Ivy League championship.

The team’s successful run in the 202122 season marked a triumphant return after being sidelined due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like other sports teams, the start of the fall semester meant rebuilding the team environment and assessing players’ skills after a year and a half of essentially training independently. Harvard head coach Andrew Rueb ’95 said he encouraged players throughout the break in play.

“One of the keys to our success [this season] was just how well our team managed the Covid year off,” Rueb said. “They remained active, and they were still engaged as students, but they were also pushing their tennis games and finding ways to play, and compete, and stay sharp.”

The season started with a bang in September at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, one of college tennis’ most prestigious tournaments. Sophomore Henry von der Schulenburg won the singles title, defeating USC’s Lodewijk Weststrate in the final in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Meanwhile, Harvard took second place in the doubles bracket with the pairing of von der Schulenburg and junior Harris Walker.

The Crimson’s success in its first tournament helped build the team’s confidence moving forward.

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Three players qualified for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Fall National Championship in San Diego. The doubles team of senior captain Brian Shi and freshman Daniel Milavsky lost in the Round of 16 to the University of Texas after a first-round win over the second-seeded team in the tournament, the Ohio State duo of Justin Boulais and James Trotter.

Harvard wasn’t discouraged by its fall in the ITA Championship in November, going on to achieve decisive 7-0 wins against Georgetown and Boston College in its first appearance of the spring.

Throughout the fall season, captains Shi and junior Steven Sun, along with the

coaching staff, fostered a strong team environment.

“Both captains did a great job of both leading by example but also building those connections and camaraderie,” Rueb said.

Shi had an impressive final season, with an overall singles record of 24-6 and a doubles record of 21-13. He went on a 13-match winning streak in singles and clinched the Ivy League Championship against Yale. Shi and Milavsky proved an effective doubles team, securing vital points for Harvard as the top seeds. “[Brian] has come to embody what Harvard tennis is all about: he’s a great student, he’s a great ambassador, and a

COURTESY OF MICHAEL CUMMO

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“It was sort of a big splash from the start, and we realized, ‘Hey, this team can compete on a national level,’” Rueb said.

Indeed, Harvard proved that it could compete with the best teams in the country as the season progressed. The Crimson hosted No. 2 Florida, the defending NCAA champions, as well as Arizona State, No. 5 Michigan, and Cal Berkeley for Chowderfest. Von der Schulenburg once again took a spot in the final, this time claiming second place.

“That fall was when we really set the marker for what was possible,” Rueb said.

“One event after the next, proving that we were playing top level competition and more than holding our own.”

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By CAROLINE G. GAGE

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MIHAELA MARCULESCU Junior

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Overall Record

5 Shutouts across its 12 victories in the spring season

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

beautiful player,” Rueb said of the graduating senior. “It’s been a joy to watch him compete and play at the highest levels of college tennis.”

The heart of the spring season began with the ITA Kickoff in California, where the Crimson faced off against No. 26 Pepperdine, No. 13 USC, and No. 5 Michigan.

Despite injuries over winter break and the tough adjustment to outdoor play after a long indoor season, Harvard made a strong showing. The nail-biting match against Pepperdine came down to Shi, whose stunning 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 victory brought the final score to 4-3.

“We had two days of outdoor practice before playing one of the most storied programs in college tennis history, and we won 4-3,” Rueb recalled. “This gave us a lot of confidence.”

The Crimson carried that momentum forward and managed to clinch a similar-

ly intense win against Michigan, 4-3, at home. Walker closed out the match as his teammates and the Murr Center crowd supported him. His clutch individual display, in a singles match that determined the team’s overall match result, exemplified the team’s camaraderie and grit.

Harvard was a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season. In February, the team defeated Columbia to win the Eastern College Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Indoor Championship. The Crimson stood with an 11-4 record moving into Ivy League play, the last portion of the regular season. The conference was incredibly competitive — four teams and seven individuals from the Ivy League went to NCAAs this year, a record for men’s tennis — but it proved no match for Harvard. The team’s level of play only increased as the season went on.

“One of the things I was most proud

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sharp, but the 4, 5, and 6 started out a little slower, and to see where they finished and how far they’d come was what makes our jobs [as coaches] so great,” Rueb said.

All in all, the 2021-22 season was a triumphant return to college tennis for Harvard, and the players are ready to take their success further next season. Von der Schulenburg and Walker will serve as captains, working alongside the coaching staff to set up goals for the team’s performance. Rueb has his sights set on the National Indoor Championships, for which the Crimson has never qualified.

“We want to build on what the team did this year and see if we can’t make another jump on the national level,” Rueb said. “There’s more to be done, and I think [the players are] working hard to get that and meet those challenges.” caroline.gage@thecrimson.com

Men’s Crew

Heavyweight

I think there was a lot of progress this season on identifying our goals and the key components of the team culture that will help us ... next season.

of as a coach was I thought everyone was playing their best tennis at the end of the year, and I think that’s a testament to the resiliency and growth mindset that our players and students have,” Rueb reflected after the season.

The Crimson was undefeated against Ivy League teams, its first sweep of the conference since 2008. Harvard also won the doubles point in all six competitions.

The team’s strong performance to end the season highlighted its growth over the course of the year.

While its loss to Stanford eliminated the Crimson from the NCAA team competition, the singles and doubles tournaments still remain. Von der Schulenburg, who went 24-8 this season, and Walker, who went 26-7, will compete in the singles draw starting in late May. “It was clear at the beginning of the season that the top of our lineup was

Heavyweight

18:54 Time for sixthplaced Varsity Fours boat in 2021 Head of the Charles

Overall, a terrific team-wide result demonstrating good depth. Losing at the top end is tough, but it’s early in the year, and the team always responds well to challenges.

CHARLES BUTT Head Coach, on the Foot of the Charles Regatta

6:05 Time for Fourth Varsity Eights boat in the Eastern Sprints Regatta

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The Harvard Crimson

Football v. Yale

Game of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Nov. 20, 2021

A Fade Not Forgotten ANGELA DELA CRUZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By GRIFFIN H. WONG

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

he ball was in the air for what felt like 30 seconds to Harvard junior quarterback Luke Emge. As Emge’s 3rd and 10 fade to the back left corner of the end zone at the Yale Bowl descended towards a leaping junior wide receiver Kym Wimberly, much hung in the balance. There were 22 seconds left in the 137th rendition of The Game, with Yale clinging to a 68-60-8 series edge and a 31-27 lead in the contest. 49,500 fans, half clad in crimson and the other half in navy blue, had descended upon New Haven, Conn., from all around the country.

For head coach Tim Murphy, a catch would mean his 20th victory in 28 tries against the Crimson’s archrivals. If it scored a touchdown, the team would finish with an 8-2 record, its best performance since 2015, when it went 9-1 to claim the Ivy League title. But if the football fell to the turf, Harvard would have to reset and go back to the line of scrim-

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TEAM RECAP

Football

mage to draw up another play — on fourth down. A failure to score on that play would send throngs of Harvard fans returning to Cambridge in disappointment.

Revenge would not be exacted for Yale’s 50-43 double overtime victory in 2019 at the same venue.

But Emge never let himself entertain the possibility of failure.

“I threw the ball having confidence he would come down with it,” he said of Wimberly.

Emge had reason to be confident. All season, the six-foot Wimberly had made play after play, hauling in 34 passes for 453 yards and four touchdowns to end the year as Harvard’s leading receiver. None was bigger than the twisting catch he made over the top of Bulldogs defensive backs Wande Owens and Dathan Hickey that Saturday.

As the Slidell, La., native came down in the back of the end zone, with Hickey crashing down on top of him, tens of thousands of Harvard fans screamed in exaltation. After a 60 minute back-andforth battle that saw neither team hold

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more than a 10-point lead, the Crimson stood on the doorstep of victory.

“Initially, I couldn’t believe myself when I saw him make that catch,” said junior kicker Jonah Lipel, an All-Ivy First Team selection whose pair of first-half field goals were critical in helping Harvard to victory. “It was so filthy, right over the top of that defender.”

The win didn’t come easily for the Crimson, which had scored on five of its nine opening drives prior to the Yale contest. Instead, it got off to about the slowest possible start, with three false start penalties in the first four plays. Then, Harvard’s fifth-ranked defense allowed its opponent to score on its opening drive for the first time all season, as Bulldogs sophomore quarterback Nolan Grooms found senior wide receiver Darrion Carrington for a 17-yard score to give Yale a 7-0 lead.

On the next possession, Emge was stripsacked by junior defensive lineman Reid Nickerson deep in the Bulldogs’ red zone.

“It was crazy,” Wimberly recalled.

“We [couldn’t] really hear. They were doing some weird snap counts. That is one of

Skiing

Overall Record

64.6 Rushing yards allowed per game, fewest in FCS

the few moments of the game that stuck out. To start off the game with three false starts is kind of like, ‘Man, we’ve gotta get going, boys.’ … It turned out pretty well.”

“Pretty well” would prove to be a modest way of describing the rest of the game, which turned out to be one of the most dramatic clashes in the 137-year history of the rivalry. The contest featured three lead changes, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown — the Crimson’s first since Oct. 5, 2019 against Howard — and saw Lipel set the program record for most field goals in a single season. He broke it on his first of two 47-yarders, which cut the deficit to 7-3 late in the first quarter.

The 47 yards also marked his career long.

He later smashed one through the uprights from the same distance on the opposite end of the field to give Harvard a 13-10 lead in the second quarter.

“As a kicker, I really just [have to] do my job when I’m called upon, no matter the situation,” Lipel said. “That warmup for Yale was probably one of the best warmups I’d had all season, my pregame, and I just felt amazing, and so walking up to

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in the EISA

I am proud of our team and am excited for next winter, as we have been progressively improving year over year.

MATT RYAN First-Year

26 Junior James Kitch’s finish in the 10k classic at the NCAA Championships

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

both of those kicks I knew I was going to make them.”

The arc of the game largely mirrored the Crimson’s season: Harvard came out the gates firing, trouncing Georgetown, 44-9, in its opening appearance. It then maintained its hot form all the way up to an Oct. 23 clash at Princeton, when a timeout was granted to Tigers head coach Bob Surace after Wimberly had found the end zone, improperly negating what would have been the game-winning score in triple overtime (the Ivy League later acknowledged the officiating error). It fell in quintuple overtime and went on to lose to Dartmouth the following week at home.

Similarly, at the Yale Bowl, Lipel’s field goals and the measured play of Emge, junior running back Aaron Shampklin, and the Harvard defense helped the Crimson outpace its nemesis for most of the game.

After Murphy’s squad gained the lead for the first time with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, Yale would not lead again until seven minutes, 48 seconds were left on the clock. Harvard was buoyed by unlikely heroes, like sophomore linebacker Kobe Joseph, a converted tight end

who returned junior safety James Herring’s second blocked punt of the season for 35 yards and a wild score to extend the team’s edge to 20-10.

The Crimson’s lead did not last, however, as the Bulldogs, led by Grooms and junior running back Spencer Alston, systematically dissected the Crimson defense. Grooms and Alston consistently stepped up, with the signal-caller launching a 30-yard touchdown pass just before halftime that cut into the Harvard lead and the running back finding a hole up the middle of the field on a third-and-18 play early in the fourth quarter, keeping alive a drive that would ultimately result in the Bulldogs’ go-ahead score. The Crimson’s mid-game struggles were emblematic of its consecutive heartbreaking losses to the eventual Ivy League co-champions in late October.

“What resonates for me was the extreme and somewhat unlikely shifts in the game,” Murphy wrote in an email. “It was very exciting and unpredictable for the fans, coaches and TV audience.”

When Yale head coach Tony Reno, staked to a four-point lead, opted to punt on 4th and 1 from his own 35-yard line

with just under three minutes remaining in the game, it seemed as if Harvard had one drive to produce a game-winning score. Thus, when Emge’s 4th and 6 pass to Wimberly was broken up, Harvard fans appeared visibly deflated. Seemingly the only people at the Yale Bowl not convinced of the hosts’ impending victory were Murphy and his team.

“Having been part of 28 [Harvard-Yale] games, you expect the unexpected,” wrote Murphy, the winningest head coach in Ivy League history. “Having been fortunate to have been part of 19 out of 27 Harvard-Yale victories, I never, ever feel like we are not going to win it.”

“Coming off the field, I remember [assistant head coach Joel Lamb ’93] just saying to me, ‘Hey, keep your helmet on, our defense is going to get a stop, we’re going to get the ball back,’” Emge added.

After three short rushes by Alston and Grooms, Reno was faced with a 4th and 8 from Harvard’s 34-yard line. Instead of punting, Reno opted to let Grooms attempt a hero play to ice Yale’s win. But amid suffocating pressure from Harvard’s front seven, the southpaw was forced to throw it away. The Crimson was

JOSIE W. CHEN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

left with just 59 seconds — and no timeouts — to orchestrate a 66-yard drive.

Weeks of practice had helped Harvard prepare for the moment.

“We are constantly running two-minute drills, repping it in practice, knowing what to do in the situation,” Emge said.

Of course, a season in which the Crimson rallied from defeats to the Tigers and the Big Green to conclude with victories in each of its final three games had to end on a comeback. In its final drive, as it had all season, Harvard received contributions from the top and bottom of its roster.

It was Wimberly who made the catch on the third and 12. But a similarly valuable play was made by two less heralded players: sophomore safety Jelani Machen and first-year safety Garrett Sharp combined to tackle Pantelis on the ensuing return.

And, as the remaining seconds ticked off the clock, Harvard came together as a unified team — as a unified school — with the stands emptying to admit tens of thousands of fans onto the field. It marked a fitting culmination of not just a trying game but of a trying few years for the Crimson, which saw the 2020 season canceled due to Covid-19.

Amid the chaos stood Wimberly, looking for his parents. But instead of falling into their arms in exhilaration, the star wide receiver found his coach.

“I was looking for my mom and dad, and I remember standing on the bleacher, and then the first person I saw … was [Murphy],” Wimberly said. “I hopped off the bench and literally gave [Murphy] the biggest hug ever. I literally had him in the air.”

While it was Emge’s perfect pass and Wimberly’s tough catch that delivered a victory for the Crimson, none of it would have been possible without Murphy’s leadership. The wide receiver lifting his head coach in the air, screaming in jubilation as Harvard students surrounded the pair on the field, seems to perfectly encapsulate the most recent installment of a legendary rivalry.

In a capstone to its successful season, a battle-worn team, held together through unfailing trust, put the finishing touches on an instant classic. The 34-31 comeback victory over Yale will not soon be forgotten in Cambridge, thanks in large part to one wide receiver and his head coach, who, with an entire school rallying behind them, helped produce the most unlikely drive in one of the most unlikely seasons in Harvard football history. griffin.wong@thecrimson.com

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The Harvard Crimson

Football v. Princeton

Heartbreak of the Year

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Oct. 23, 2021

The Call that Changed a Season

ANGELA DELA CRUZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By MADDIE B. BARKATE

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

s the Ivy League has contributed much to the birth of modern football, it only stands to reason that some of the most memorable games in NCAA history would also have their roots in this storied league. This past year’s Harvard-Princeton matchup is no exception.

However, for the Crimson faithful, it is remembered not for the heroism and playmaking on display, but for the heartbreak suffered by the Harvard team and its supporters.

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Round Two score by Brian Ma and Diego Saavedra-Davila in Ivy League Championship

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On the men’s side, it was a really strong season, as it turned out.

Even then, this touchdown was defensive, coming off of a blocked punt by junior punter Jon Sot. In contrast with its defense’s outstanding performance, the Crimson had a relatively slow day on offense, with most of its points coming off the leg of junior kicker Jonah Lipel until a short run to the right of the end zone by sophomore running back Aaron Shampklin in the fourth quarter set the game up for overtime.

The first two periods of overtime went largely the way of the first half. A Princeton field goal was answered by a 33-yd Lipel strike in the first overtime, and although the Harvard offense failed to convert in the second overtime, junior defensive lineman Anthony Nelson was able to block a 34-yard field goal attempt to force a third overtime period.

Due to new NCAA rules introduced prior to the 2021 season, starting with the third overtime, the two teams begin what some have called the football equivalent of a shootout: they trade two-point conversion attempts until a team wins the game.

In the third overtime, the Tigers failed to complete their two-point conversion attempt. This turnover meant that Harvard now had a chance to end the game.

Crimson senior quarterback Jake Smith was able to find Wimberly on a beautiful route, who hauled it in inbounds for the win. Once Wimberly came down with the ball, the stadium erupted. The team rushed the field, helmets flying everywhere as the Crimson squad swarmed their offense. But the celebration was short-lived.

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On Oct. 23, Princeton and Harvard, the Ivy League’s two undefeated teams, met at Princeton Stadium in New Jersey in front of thousands of fans to decide who would emerge as first in the conference.

Despite the many feats of athletic talent on display for more than 60 minutes and by two top-ranked Football Championship Subdivision schools, at the end of the game, it was not the players who stole the show. During the third overtime, Crimson junior wide receiver Kym Wimberly was able to capitalize on the Tigers’ man-to-man coverage, getting open for a pass from senior quarterback Jake Smith.

However, right before the play, Princeton head coach Bob Surace had signaled to call a timeout. During the review of the catch, the referees noticed Surace’s call and retroactively granted the timeout — despite the NCAA rule that timeouts are non-reviewable and must be granted by the referees before a snap.

After an offensive pass interference penalty on senior wide receiver B.J. Watson, who made a catch on the ensuing play, Harvard failed to score from the 18yard line. Thus, the game continued until the fifth overtime, when Princeton finally managed to capitalize on its opportunity then knocked away a short slant pass by Smith just outside of the end zone to win the game.

The pain of the loss would only increase for the Crimson, as the next day, the Ivy League admitted in an official statement that the referees had made a mistake: Harvard, the league said, should have won the game after Wimberly’s catch.

Although seven months removed from the action, the disappointment is still raw for the players.

“When I think of the Princeton game, the loss still stings a bit,” Wimberly said.

“Everyone, even Princeton, knows we won that game.”

Most of the day for Harvard was business as usual, as the typically stellar defense, which entered the game tied for second in the nation with four sacks per game, did not disappoint. With four interceptions and seven sacks, the defense was able to hold Princeton without a touchdown until midway through the third.

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3 Top 10 finishers at the Ivy League Championship

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Shortly before the snap, Princeton head coach Bob Surace had been frantically trying to call timeout. No referee noticed him, even though in his desperate attempt to get their attention, he was so far on the field he was practically at the hashes. During review of Wimberly’s catch, the referees finally saw Surace and granted Princeton its timeout, negating Harvard’s score.

When head coach Tim Murphy heard their ruling, he appeared apoplectic.

The normally serene play caller for the Crimson convened with the referees and Surace at midfield. Although no one but those in the huddle could hear what was said, it was quite obvious to onlookers that Murphy was not pleased with the result.

Murphy’s rage was not out of blind passion for his team. According to the 2021 NCAA Football Rules Book Rule 12, Section 3, timeouts are not listed in the litany of reviewable plays. Although the referees were within their right to review the play itself, as it was a scoring play, they

could not grant a timeout retroactively.

Harvard should have won the game then and there.

Nevertheless, the ruling was made, so the Harvard offense trotted out again for its second attempt at a game-winning conversion. This try was also completed on a beautiful look from Smith to Watson, but the referees determined that Watson had pushed off his defender, gave the Crimson a 15-yard penalty, and forced the visitors back to the 18-yard line. On its third attempt, Harvard was unable to convert, with Smith’s pass for sophomore tight end Haven Montefalco being batted away by Tigers senior linebacker Jeremiah Tyler.

The fourth overtime was again unsuccessful for both teams. But in the fifth, Princeton senior quarterback Cole Smith found senior wide receiver Jacob Birmelin in the end zone, putting the pressure on the Crimson. This marked the end of the line for Harvard, as Princeton was able to break up a short pass to Montefalco to end the game.

Emotions ran high postgame — and were only exacerbated by the Ivy League’s admission the following day that what Harvard had suspected was correct and that the timeout should not have been granted. In the announcement, the league recognized that although the Crimson should have won the game, it would reafirm the result to stand as a win for Princeton.

The Ivy League’s decision to leave Princeton as the only undefeated team in the conference was largely based on past precedent. Never in the history of college football has the result of a game been overturned by the regulating body of college athletics itself. The only time a game’s result has been changed was during a 1940 competition between Cornell and Dartmouth, when a referee mistakenly granted the Big Red a fifth down to win the game. After realizing that a mistake was made, Cornell forfeited to Dartmouth, unofficially overturning the official result.

Seven months ago, Harvard’s team

was angered with the league’s decision.

The outcome, however, has only made the team more fired up for the upcoming season.

“Obviously, I wish they would’ve overturned the result of the game, especially after recognizing they made a mistake,” said Wimberly, who cited the Princeton game as a reason for his decision to return to the program for his senior season in 2022. “But, it is what it is, and we all just have to take it on the chin.”

Harvard is clearly ready to avenge the heartbreak this fall. The Crimson will have the chance to avenge its loss on Oct. 22, when it welcomes the Tigers to Harvard Stadium.

“Instead of being angry about the decision, I have turned my focus on controlling what I can control and beating them again next year,” Wimberly said. “I think everyone on the team has that similar sentiment. This just gives us extra motivation.” madison.barkate@thecrimson.com

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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I am very proud of our group ... and playing in a championship game was pretty special.

TED MINNIS Head Coach

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Communicating effectively has definitely been a huge part of why we are so succesful on defense – we’re all on the same page.

NOAH HODGE Co-Captain and Goalie

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3 Members of the All-NWPC First Team

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

From the Sidelines

By DYLAN J. GOODMAN SPECIAL TO THE CRIMSON

If you revealed to my younger, athletic self that, as a freshman, I would covet standing on the Crimson sidelines rather than competing on the field, I would have called you crazy. Having spent the past year capturing the spirit that is ignited within Harvard athletics, I can confidently proclaim that I absolutely love my position on the field.

Last spring, I created a photo essay entitled From the Sidelines, where I captured, compiled, and published a portfolio of images showcasing the most committed, talented, and passionate senior athletes across Fairfield County for the Ruden Report. Having established relationships with some senior athletes this year, I became inspired to revisit my From the Sidelines photo journey, and hope to turn it into an annual project at Harvard. I cannot imagine a more rewarding tradition

than this for myself; it combines my passion for photography with my desire to commemorate our incredible athletes and their achievements.

Over the past two months, I reached out to coaches from every athletic team on campus, looking for the senior athlete who best represented their respective team and deserved such recognition. Of the teams who responded, I conducted individual photoshoots, capturing each athlete’s individuality and personal connection with Harvard. In Crimson spirit, I hope From the Sidelines becomes a tradition that holds for years to come.

I am invigorated by my favorite position along the sidelines, capturing the raw emotions that compose every play. This special location on the field, the one that I despised the most as a child, is the spot that I will happily continue to call my home.

Jaren Zinn - Baseball

Hannah Pearce - Field Hockey

Hana Moataz - Women’s Squash

Rachel Lim - Women’s Tennis

Sam Scherl - Men’s Squash

Spencer Rolland - Football

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Alfred Perez - Men’s Soccer

Jacob Sykes - Football

Sofie Fella - Women’s Rugby

Chelsea Marlborough - Women’s Lacrosse

Kyle Mullin - Men’s Lacrosse

Noah Kirkwood - Men’s Basketball

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Coach of the Year

Kathy Delaney-Smith Women’s Basketball

A Lavietes Legend Retires

By A.J. DILTS, NICHOLAS DALEY, AND OSCAR E. MERCADO

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

n her 40 years as the Harvard women’s basketball coach, Kathy Delaney-Smith has overcome countless obstacles. She took over a program which had never had a full-time head coach — the two previous coaches split their time with tennis and lacrosse, respectively — and had won just 12 games the previous two seasons, and turned it into a league powerhouse within four years. In 1998, she led Harvard to a first-round victory over top-seeded Stanford in the NCAA tournament, the first 16-over-1 upset in college basketball history. In 2000, she coached while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

While Delaney-Smith announced in November that she would retire after the 2021-2022 season, this year would not be a gentle farewell tour. With a significantly undersized team and a starting five that had just five years of Harvard

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basketball between them, Delaney-Smith had to face one of her biggest challenges as a coach.

When people in the Ivy League basketball community discuss Delaney-Smith, the “GOAT,” or “greatest of all time,” label comes up often. Coming into this year, she already held by a wide margin the record for most wins of any coach, men’s or women’s, in the Ancient Eight. Leading her young squad to the Ivy League Tournament added yet another chapter to her remarkable legacy.

Despite the difficult journey this season posed, Delaney-Smith was perfectly equipped to overcome it.

“She’s had lots of experience with different types of teams,” junior guard Maggie McCarthy explained.

“She is a great leader. She let us be role models for each other, giving the players a good leadership role.”

This experience came in handy, particularly in a Jan. 29 contest against Penn. Harvard fell down by as much as 13 points late in the third quarter, but the team remained composed, outscoring Penn 3619 for the remainder of the game to win, 70-63. It marked the third of a five-game winning streak.

However, the team hit a slump shortly after, losing three consecutive games,

all by single digits. The season was on the brink, but the Crimson responded with one of its best performances of the season, an 85-52 thrashing against Dartmouth to clinch a spot in the Ivy League Tournament.

For McCarthy, the key to the team’s success was the unique culture Coach Delaney-Smith has built. Throughout her remarkable career, she has consistently preached team unity.

“We had one of the best team cultures that I’ve ever been a part of,” McCarthy said. “We had no off-the-court drama, everyone got along really well on and off the court…We had this ‘refuse to lose’ mentality for Kathy. We stuck together through [everything].”

After dropping its final regular season game to a league-leading and nationally-ranked Princeton squad at home, the Crimson yet again regrouped and rebounded for their legendary head coach.

Facing the same Tigers team before a packed Lavietes Pavilion in the postseason conference tournament, Harvard played with a tenacious energy and trailed their opponent by only three points at halftime.

The defensive effort of McCarthy, senior guard Tess Sussman, and the entire Crimson team was on full display, as was the elite shot-making ability of first-year guard Harmoni Turner and junior guard McKenzie Forbes. Forbes, in particular, converted an and-one layup on a fastbreak and notched a pair of free throws to tie the game with six minutes remaining.

Although clutch shooting from Princeton, which advanced to the Round of 32

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in the NCAA Tournament later in March, was enough to oust Harvard at the final buzzer, the Crimson’s miraculous turnaround from the previous week brought an optimistic note to Delaney-Smith’s final moments at the helm.

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“I know she’d want to leave with an Ivy championship, but she’s left the program in a great place,” said McCarthy.

“We fought through a lot this year and stuck together through it all. I think that our record didn’t reflect how successful this season was and I think Kathy would say the same. She’s set up a great team for Coach [Carrie] Moore to take over [next season]. She created this basketball culture and this community of women, setting the foundation for our future growth.”

Delaney-Smith amassed 630 victories, won 11 Ivy League championships, and led Harvard to six NCAA Tournament appearances. Yet her most enduring legacy is found in the family she built through the Crimson women’s basketball program. With selflessness, courage, and her endearing sense of humor, Delaney-Smith has inspired countless players past, present, and future to play the game she loves.

Each home game this season, dozens of young girls watched Delaney-Smith lead her team from the sideline. Scores of former players returned to campus to honor her at “KDS Day” this past February, each wearing t-shirts with her mantra, “Act as If,” on the back. To Delaney-Smith, this maxim means to overcome the adversity and obstacles in the way of our goals by simply convincing ourselves they are surmountable. Let that be one final lesson the legendary Harvard women’s basketball coach can teach us all. aj.dilts@thecrimson.com nicholas.daley@thecrimson.com oscar.mercado@thecimson.com

Female Performance of the Year

Rebecca Gilmore Women’s Ice Hockey

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Gilmore Game-Winner Secures Beanpot Title

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By SHAHMIR AZIZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

arning the Female Performance of the Year honor for her match-winning performance in the final of the 43rd iteration of the Beanpot Tournament is a fitting curtain call to what has been a stellar, inspirational season for senior forward Becca Gilmore.

MVP of the Beanpot Tournament. Ivy League Player of the Year and All-Ivy First Team. ECAC Player of the Month for February and ECAC All-League Second Team.

Despite winning all these accolades and more, Gilmore, who was Harvard’s leading point scorer for the season with 45 points — the highest for a Harvard player since the 2008-2009 season — thought that the most rewarding and by far the biggest achievement she had this season was the team’s overall success.

The Crimson finished the year 22-101 (16-5-1 ECAC) and earned an at-large bid to the Division I NCAA tournament, where they fell to the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“I think our senior class is graduating with how we wanted to leave the Harvard hockey program,” Gilmore reflected.

“It was a huge success, and it showed all the work that has been going on for the past four, five years to bring Harvard hockey to the big stage. That was the goal that our class set in freshman year, and it was great to see it all come to fruition and to see the team achieve all that it did,” she added With her combined five-point contribution in the Beanpot semifinal and final games, Gilmore was awarded MVP of the prestigious tournament.

After playing an integral part in the semifinals with two assists to lead the Crimson to the final, it was on the big stage where Gilmore shone brightest, netting the unforgettable game-winning goal with less than four minutes in the nail-biting final remaining.

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In a match that will surely go into the ly long hiatus.

Harvard not only managed to break history books as one of the most intense en-year streak of and competitive played in the Beanpot, its sevwoes in the the score was tied at a stalemate of 4-4 in Beanpot the last period with the clock ticking and and reach both team’s offenses coming up short in NCA As, the face of a great display of defense put but it also on by both goaltenders. claimed With 16:39 to go in the last period, it was Gilmore who finally the Ivy crossed the blue line on the left League side of the ice, went around title for her marker on the backthe first hand side, dragged time since the puck back to 2015. her forehand, These past and finished seven years five-hole have been for what a series would be the of tough ga me-w inluck, with ning score. close finishes ending in a For defeat, pandemlong seven ic-induced unceryears prior, tainty, and a dry Harvard had spell of no adnot managed ditions to the to bring home team’s trophy the Beanpot trophy, cabinet. This coveted and played year, though, was for by the most competitive and highly-ranked different. teams in the Boston area From the very beginning of the sea— Boston College, son in the fall, there Northeastern University, Boswas a distinct hunger and drive which ton Universicharacterized every ty, and Harperformance that the vard. The Crimson displayed, team fin a l l y culminating in its broke 22-10-1 overall record t h e and unfort u 16n a t e ANGELA DELA CRUZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER 5 -1 streak this season, as it emerged victorious after a final for the ages, clinched the Crimson’s eighth ever regular-season ECAC crown on the way, and progressed to the NCAA tournament after an equal-

mark in ECAC play. At the very forefront of this galvanized group was Gilmore, who led the team from the front on the ice in every single game. A true team player, Gilmore led the team in assists

with a grand total of 26 helpers and was a clinical finisher herself, scoring the game-winning goals on five different occasions and netting a total of 19 pucks over the course of the season.

To perform exceptionally on the biggest stages of college hockey is a feat in itself, but to do so consistently for a whole season truly made Gilmore stand out as a vanguard for the team.

“It’s a long season, and the victories we managed to get are an accomplishment,” Gilmore said.

“I think it’s a great lesson for the team and for the future of Harvard hockey.

There’s a lot of incredible talent still remaining in the team, and I think they’re going to do great in the years to come,” she added Team spirit was something Gilmore valued greatly throughout her tenure with the Crimson, and her performances even before senior year were commendable to say the least. During her junior year, she racked up 24 points, the third highest in the team’s roster, and attended the USA Hockey’s National Team Camp.

When the trailblazing forward was asked what she had to say to the succeeding classes of hockey players, Gilmore offered words of advice and inspiration.

“Continue,” she said. “Continue the tradition of Harvard hockey. This is a saying in our locker room that the tradition lives on in you. It really is bigger than yourself, and the success of the team each year is a reflection of everyone who wore the jersey before you. Continue the tradition, continue having fun, and take care of teammates. These four years go by really fast in the jersey, and success only matters when you love the people you’re doing it with.”

The undying sense of team, fighting spirit, and competition, coupled with her incredible performance in the Beanpot and success in bringing the Crimson back to its glory after an unfortunate dry spell, won Gilmore The Crimson’s Female Performance of the Year. shahmir.aziz@thecrimson.com

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The Harvard Crimson

& Matthew Coronato Male Performance of the Year Mitchell Gibson Men’s Ice Hockey

COMMENCEMENT 2022

Gibson and Coronato Steal the Show in ECAC Final here have been countless impressive performances by Harvard athletes over the past year. Prevented from participating in the 2021 season by the Ivy League due to Covid-19 protocols, many athletes took the year off from competition to train and practice — and the break paid off for many, as their respective dominant returns acted almost as vengeance for the time they had lost. s Many athletes produced strong ef-

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forts throughout the year, including junior fencer Filip Dolegiewicz’s individual NCAA championship win, freshman lacrosse player Sam King’s six goals and three assists against Dartmouth, and Swimming and Diving’s seniors Raphael Marcoux, Dean Farris, Mahlon Reihman, and junior Umitcan Gures’ showing at the NCAA Championships.

However, there was one competition — in which two players greatly contributed — that stood out among the rest. The Harvard men’s hockey team’s success continued to grow throughout the season and climaxed during

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hockey was physically aggressive, tensions were high, and offensive possession was heavily dominated by Quinnipiac.

Harvard started Gibson in goal, as it had consistently done in the latter half of the season. The junior from Phoenixville, Pa. was a brick wall, recording 47 saves on 49 shots against one of the best offenses in the country. One of the goals scored was during a power play in which Qunnipiac also pulled its goalkeeper for an extra skater, resulting in a 6-on-4 advantage.

In comparison, the Crimson offense only produced 17 shots against the Bobcats, but scored three times. Gibson was challenged with more than double the amount of shots, but nevertheless stood strong behind the mask.

“I felt good going into it,” he said. “Towards the end of the playoffs, you play so much hockey that I think you start to figure yourself out…I hadn’t played in over a year, so I felt like the first half of the season

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it game by game because we knew if we wanted to keep our season going we had to just to win out.”

Entering the championship, with about 4,500 fans in attendance, Harvard was a significant underdog to Quinnipiac. The Bobcats had a league-best 18 conference wins, and although the Crimson managed a split in the two regular season contests, in both previous games the

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the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs.The crown of the team’s success in the tournament was the championship game against No.6 Quinnipiac on March 19 that secured Harvard the conference title and propelled it to the NCAA tournament. Although the Crimson won as a team, its success in the game would have been impossible without junior goalkeeper Mitchell Gibson’s career-high 47 saves and freshman forward Matthew Coronato’s aggressive and tactical offense.

Prior in the tournament, Harvard had survived two win-or-go-home situations.

It defended its home, the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in a quarterfinal battle of a three-game series, with two of the contests going into overtime. The team then headed to Lake Placid, N.Y. to play at the historic Herb Brooks Arena for the remainder of the tournament, taking down No. 14 Clarkson University in the semifinals. The Crimson had previously lost to Clarkson twice earlier in the season, but defeated the Golden Knights when it mattered most.

“We basically knew that winning the ECAC was going to be our only way to keep playing,” Gibson said.

“We already had a tough ries with RPI at home s e played the toughest — we opponents g o i n g id [the into Lake Placa n d championship game], I think that prepared us a little bit more than some of the other teams that maybe had it a little bit easier….We just took

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KALE CATCHINGS Senior Forward, Co-Captain

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

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for me was slow — I wasn’t feeling great.

I was shaky in a few, and then towards the second half, I thought I was able to become more consistent and pull out some wins and saves that I maybe

plots and shouldn’t have.”

Outside the crease, Coronato also played an outstanding game. Playing on perhaps the most talented offensive line of the team, alongside U.S. Olympians sophomore forward Sean Farrell and junior forward and captain Nick Abruzzese — now a professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs — Coronato saw significant time in the game, kept up with the physicality of the Bobcats, defended the zone, and produced offensive opportunities.

Coronato recorded his first point with a beautiful cross-ice assist to freshman defenseman Ian Moore on a power-play breakaway in the second period, putting Harvard up 2-1. The Crimson would lose the lead in the third period after the aforementioned 6-on-4 power play goal and headed into overtime.

Coronato only had one shot on goal during the game, but it would prove to be successful and the most important. Just over nine minutes into overtime, Moore found Coronato, who then lifted the puck into the top left corner of the net, ending the game and securing the Crimson the Whitelaw Cup for the first time since 2017.

“In between [the third period] and overtime, we just tried to regroup and settle down,” Coronato said. “[Moore] made a good drop pass to me in overtime. I tried to shoot it as quickly as I could — just get it off my stick. I had eyes and found the back

of the net. It was just a really exciting moment for all of us … It was a well deserved win for our whole group.”

After losing last season to Covid-19, both players spoke on the importance of bringing the victory to their team as well as qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

“While a lot of other teams played, we had to sit on the sidelines for a full year and watch them, and I think that put a fire underneath us, so when we did have the opportunity, I think we all played exceptional and did well,” Gibson reflected.

“We were all just happy to be at the rink and playing hockey again, and then to win [the ECAC championship] on top of that was unbelievable.”

“The number one goal for our team at the beginning of the year was to make it to [the NCAA tournament] and have a chance to compete for the national championship,” Coronato added. “I think that’s everything for every team, and it was for

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Men’s Track and Field

Women’s Track and Field The team is like a big family, and it’s the best it’s ever been.

ours. Having that experience this past year is huge for o u r team next year.”

B o t h Gibson and Cornato, prospects of the Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames, respectively, plan on returning next season to compete for Harvard. After the experience gained by their young team this year, they are anxiously awaiting to get back out on the ice to see what they can do next.

“I think we have a chance to be really, really good; we were really young this past year,” Coronato said. “Giving everyone a year to grow up, put some weight on, get stronger, just continue to mature — I think as this team continues to grow we have a chance to do really well, and we’re all really excited for next year to see what we can do.”

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63.26 Sam Welsh’s discus throw distance

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Chasing a Championship

ZING GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

here’s much to be excited about as the summer countdown for Harvard women’s soccer’s return to the pitch begins. The team just finished a successful spring training and is now heading into a promising summer of preparation before it returns to campus in August.

When the Crimson does, it’ll be joined by a talented incoming first-year class as it chases an Ivy League title and more.

Harvard (12-3-1, 5-2 Ivy League) continues to build on a stellar fall 2021 campaign which saw the Crimson earn its first at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament since 2004 before falling to a strong Wake Forest team in the first round. The team graduates seven seniors: goalkeeper Samantha Schmitz,

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ant, but it was really more of the smaller detailed work that we did that was critical,” said Bebar, a Crimson Sports editor.

“I think that the team collectively has really been pulling in a good direction, and I feel very, very good about where we’re at,” said head coach Chris Hamblin.

Hamblin will be entering his thirteenth season with Harvard this fall, and his eighth as head coach. In addition to Hamblin and the rest of the coaching staff’s leadership, two new captains will be taking the helm. Rising senior defender Jordan Di Verniero and rising senior midfielder/forward Ava Lung were elected by their teammates this spring to serve as team captains for the upcoming campaign.

“They are two great women who have already gotten off to a great start with their leadership…I’m excited that they’ll

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It feels incredible to share [the season] with 29 guys I can call my brothers.

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midfielders Maria Dimartinis and Taylor Nielsen; forwards Lauren Raimondo, Trinity Thomas, and Murphy Agnew; and defender Jillian Wachira.

This past spring saw the returning squad play four scrimmages, including a blowout victory over the North Toronto Nitros, a 3-0 win over the University of Connecticut, a 2-0 win over Providence College — who also won an at-large NCAA tournament bid last season – and a 5-2 win over Boston University.

Rising second semester sophomore midfielder Hannah Bebar acknowledged that although the wins were significant, other elements of spring training have been similarly vital in shaping the upcoming season.

“We’re definitely going to come into the fall with an idea of different ways to improve and different looks, and so I think winning those games is import-

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be leading the team this fall…they’re very selfless individuals, and so they’re going to make sure the team comes first in all that they do,” Hamblin said.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how that [spring] work plays into our fall season,” Lung said. “One of our main focuses, as always, is just to develop and maintain a really great team culture.”

Hamblin emphasized that after a successful 2021 campaign, the Crimson has big aspirations entering the fall — ones that require teamwork and commitment to a process.

“I think one of [the] statements we want to focus on is to become the best team in Ivy League history,” Hamblin said. “Ivy League history is the context, but becoming the best team is the process we’ve got to focus on, and the three words in that statement are: becoming, which is focusing on the process; best, [which] is how do we define success and the standards; and the team is that we do it together.”

Bebar, who garnered First Team AllIvy, third team All-American, and Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors last season, reiterated the team’s goals for the fall and hunger to win.

“We’re definitely going to come back aiming for the Ivy League title. I think we played well enough last year to contend for it, and we’re definitely very disappointed to finish third,” Bebar said.

“I’m really looking forward to see how that work plays into our fall season.”

The spring provided Harvard the chance to focus on development both on and off the field while also giving opportunities for the squad to experiment with players at different positions and looks.

The summer presents another window to continue this growth on a more individualized basis as players are spread

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

out across the country and globe. Hamblin said the coaching staff asks players to maintain fitness levels and get touches, which looks different for players depending on their summer scenarios.

Many players are competing with club teams in semi-professional leagues this summer, and some of them are also balancing their summer training with other commitments such as internships or jobs or family trips, according to Hamblin.

Despite the distance, the team remains united over the summer through consistent communication from the coaching staff and communication among training group pods of three.

“If we are able to work together to become our best selves, then we’re gonna

put ourselves in a very strong position,” Hamblin explained. “I think how far we go is going to be based on how well we can execute, and how well we can come together as a group, especially through challenge.”

Coming together as a group will look a little different this fall. The team is welcoming an incoming first-year class of five recruits, which will mark a significant shift from last fall, when the team welcomed twelve new faces to the squad as both the Class of 2024 and Class of 2025 played with the team for the first time after the cancellation of the 20202021 Ivy League season.

“We feel that the incoming class [is] very talented, and all have had a lot of

good experiences,” Hamblin said.

The five incoming players consist of forward Audrey Francois of Laval, Quebec, midfielder Vanessa Frelih of Pickering, Ontario, defender August Hunter — younger sister of new teammate Smith Hunter — of Seattle, Wash., goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart of London, England, and goalkeeper Denver Tolson of Duluth, G.A. “We feel we have such a strong core that now we’re not going to need to rely on any of our incoming freshmen to get the job done; they’re going to be able to earn opportunities for playing time, and that’s a really cool situation to be in as a coach,” Hamblin said. “You’ve got what you need in the returning group, and the

first-years, they’re going to come in and just challenge and push for playing time right away.”

The promising trajectory of a hungry and accomplished but not-yet-satisfied team with a great incoming class and clear goals — capturing a championship and becoming the best team in Ivy League history — gives Harvard soccer fans big things to look forward to come the fall.

When it does come, Jordan Field will be packed, goals will be scored, and championships will be chased. As summer begins, Crimson fans can’t wait for it to end. zing.gee@thecrimson.com

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Women’s Crew

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We capped off our regular season with every boat on the podium at Women’s Eastern Sprints. As school has wrapped up, we are training full steam ahead in preparation for our national championship the first weekend in June.

JOSIE VOLK Capitain

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With a younger team with the majority of rowers never racing at Harvard before, this has been a great learning experience and given us a great idea of how we can becoming a winning team next year.

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

From Cairo to Cambridge TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA––CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By CALLUM J. DIAK

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quick glance at the roster of the 2022 women’s College Squash Association national champions, the Harvard Crimson, will make one thing clear: Harvard is a trove for squash talent. Resumes include national championships, World Junior victories, Pan-American Games appearances, and more.

Delving deeper into the player biographies, one cannot help but ignore the outstanding representation of Egyptian athletes on the Crimson’s roster. Graduating seniors Hana Moataz and Amina Yousry, who have been foundational to Harvard’s success in the past four years, both hail from Cairo, Egypt. Fellow Cairo native

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Habiba Eldafrawy joined the pair this year as part of the 2021 rookie class.

The three played critical roles in the Crimson’s dominant campaign this past season, with Moataz leading the charge as co-captain and competing as the team’s number one. The veteran Yousry predominantly battled in position number three, though had some skirmishes at one and two. Eldafrawy dueled in the fourth position and even earned the green-light to play as high as the second position, an impressive feat as a first-year athlete.

Through their contributions, the Egyptian stars have made themselves a core element of Harvard squash’s identity.

Egypt’s strength in the sport is not exclusive to college squash. The current world squash rankings in the men’s division features three Egyptians in the top

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five. The women’s podium in the Professional Squash Association world rankings is fully swept by Egyptian athletes. In the past decade, Egypt has established itself as the premier country for squash excellence, producing multiple top-ranked players in the professional league.

“I believe that having so many Egyptian players dominating the top of the world rankings makes the juniors believe that they also can make it to the top one day. I think that getting to watch the top players practicing in front of you inspires you to take the same route as them and excel in the sport just like they did,” Eldafrawy said of Egyptian success in squash.

“It’s easier to make it to the top when you see someone living in the same environment as you making it to the top.”

The traditional route to the profes-

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sional circuit for the top-ranked players in Egypt often bypasses college altogether in order to make time for the intensive training regime needed to perform at the highest level.

“The squash culture in Egypt is really different than in the US,” Eldafrawy said.

“Back home, practice was a huge part of my day, even in the summer. I would have one-on-ones with my coach four out of five days a week on top of practice matches as well as fitness sessions. So I would say that college squash is way lighter in terms of practice. This is because college squash gives you the opportunity to play an individual sport in a team environment. This isn’t a thing in Egypt. You mainly play for yourself.”

In recent years, though, college squash recruiting has extended its reach into

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

COURTESY OF HABIBA ELDAFRAWY

Egypt, as the CSA hopes to attract some of the best junior talent in the world to a more team-based game. Harvard has a storied and successful history of recruiting squash talent from the northeast African republic. Its program landed its first major recruit in 2012, when it was announced that Ali Farag ’14, then world No. 1 in the World Junior division, would be joining the men’s program at Harvard.

Farag has gone pro and managed to climb his way up to world No. 1 in the PSA since his graduation from Harvard. He is a two-time world champion, and in 2017, he and his wife, Nour el-Tayeb, became the first married couple to win the same major title on the same day when they both claimed the US Open.

Farag’s successes for the Crimson helped open the gate for Egyptian re-

cruitment in the United States while simultaneously demonstrating the viability of college squash as a pathway onto the professional circuit.

Moataz is seeking to follow a similar path. Even before graduating college, Moataz has been making waves on the professional circuit. In addition to her CSA accolades, the squash phenom has made multiple PSA finals appearances, including winning two PSA World Tour events, carrying her to a current world No. 49 ranking at the age of 22. She has also helped Harvard’s recruitment efforts in her home country; Eldafrawy partially credits Motaz and Yousry and the legacy of Egyptians in the Harvard squash program with her commitment to the school, citing the significance of being teammates with fellow nationals.

“I chose Harvard for two reasons,” she said. “One was because there were fellow Egyptians on the team … I just felt more comfortable going to a place where people I knew of were already excelling in academics as well as squash. The second reason [for attending Harvard] was that the Harvard women’s team is the best in the country.”

Harvard is a dynasty, embarking on a run of success unparalleled in college squash. The Crimson’s seven straight national titles make the team appealing to any athlete. As Egyptian success nurtures more Egyptian talent, Harvard has been at the forefront of college squash for years now and has manufactured a positive feedback loop for recruitment. It seems that the more stars the Crimson can acquire, the more renowned its pro-

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gram becomes, consequentially attracting more talent to the school.

Head coach Mike Way, alongside the rest of the coaching and recruitment staff, must be given due credit for building such a well-known program and actively pursuing talent worldwide. Eldafrawy explained that she was first drawn to the Crimson by head of recruitment, Luke Hammond, at the 2020 British Junior Open.

The 2021-22 squash season has exemplified the importance of the Egyptian squash tradition for Harvard’s success.

As the school furthers its recruiting efforts in Cairo, it would be no surprise to see more Egyptian athletes added to the Crimson’s roster in the coming years.

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Harvard Returns with Championship Appearance

COURTESY OF GIL TALBOT

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By NOAH A. JUN

CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

oward the end of its regular season, the Harvard women’s water polo team defeated its Ivy League rival Princeton for the first time in 6,551 days, a feat it had not achieved since the 2004 season.

This victory was one of many accolades in a historic year for the Crimson. Harvard boasted many weekly awards given to its players by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) throughout its threemonth season, which culminated in a conference championship appearance — the furthest the team had ever gone in the tournament.

The Crimson (23-7, 9-3 CWPA) had a strong entrance in the CWPA Championships in Lewisburg, Pa., with a shutout against Maryland’s Mount St. Mary (8-26, 1-11) for the second time that sea-

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son. Before this season, the team had only achieved a shutout once. In a semifinal grudge match, the team took down No. 20 Princeton (21-10, 8-4) 11-9 for the third time in April alone Although his team fell to No. 7 Michigan (26-9, 12-0) for the conference title in what would have serendipitously marked his 200th win at the helm, head coach Ted Minnis felt nothing but excitement and joy about the season as a whole.

“I was the happiest you could be without winning a championship but with the way we played,” said Minnis when asked about this outcome. “We did things that I don’t think anyone thought we would be able to do when we first started this journey in the fall, except for our group. We all believed that this was what we were capable of doing.”

This belief and success rested upon an especially skilled Harvard squad, including junior goalie Zoe Banks, senior cen-

ter defender Inde Halligan, junior attacker Evan Tingler, and junior center Grace Thawley, who all garnered All-CWPA honors.

“We had a lot of talent,” Minnis reflected. “This was by far the strongest defensive team I’ve had. We were able to do things defensively that allowed us to have a lot of success. I also think this team was very hungry and bought into the whole process of what it took to play at a high level, and they were a very supportive team. That was very critical to us having our success; it all lined up with how hard they worked, how much they supported one another, and how talented and deep they were.”

“Whether it was the defensive and offensive plays, we were running or our ‘shark mindset’, which we try to maintain,” Banks explained. “All of my teammates were fully bought into doing what we needed to do to accomplish our goals,

and it was so incredible to see the impact it had on our season.”

Banks, who co-captained the team with Thawley, tallied an impressive 216 saves and added four consecutive CWPA Defensive Player of the Week awards to her two other recognitions throughout the regular season. The CWPA named her to its All-Conference First Team as well as the All-Tournament First Team for her contribution to the Crimson’s championship run. Tingler, who scored 29 goals and had a team-high 30 assists, joined Banks on the first team for the tournament, while Halligan also made the all-conference team for notching 33 points and 45 steals. Complementing Halligan’s seniority was first-year attacker Erin Kim, who scored 40 points, the third-most for the team, throughout her debut season for Harvard.

The season started at the end of January in Philadelphia where Crimson

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earned two convincing victories over host Villanova (20-15, 9-7 MAAC). The Cambridge-based team only dropped one of its first thirteen games, and its dominance began to show at an undefeated four-game weekend at the Princeton Invitational and two weeks later with a stellar 3-0 run to start conference play. Despite losing its 2021 season altogether because of the pandemic, Harvard displayed no signs of rust, maintaining a high quality of play.

“It was scary coming back to two halves of a team that didn’t know each other in the slightest,” admitted Thawley when remembering the return to campus this past fall. “We all knew that the fitness and sharpness of water polo would come back to us in time, but we couldn’t predict whether healthy bonds would form between the newcomers and returners. As a captain, I felt a lot of pressure to make life as easy as possible on everyone on the team, to make the translation as seamless as it could be, and to make sure everyone felt seen, heard, and loved…

But I couldn’t have predicted that not only would we learn very quickly to work together, but we would be the closest, healthiest, most cohesive, and successful women’s team to go through the program.”

Minnis also intentionally adjusted his coaching style in an attempt to introduce two cohorts of players who had never experienced collegiate water polo play.

“You have to adapt to different personalities,” the 12-year coach explained. “We did a very good job, myself and my staff, in the summer of doing a lot of talking about what we wanted our culture to look like, what leadership qualities we were looking for, and what was important to us individually and as a group.”

The first major disappointment the team faced came when its spring break trip to California to play No. 20 San Diego State University, No. 1 Stanford, and No. 13 UC San Diego was canceled. Nevertheless, the coaching staff and players used this hiccup to their advantage.

“Not only did we lose opportunities to play in California, which for a lot of our team is home, but we also lost opportunities to test our strengths against some of the top teams in the country,” the junior

goalie said. “It was the peak of adversity during this season. However, our team persisted and eventually overcame the challenge.”

Minnis noted the silver lining of the trip’s cancellation, saying that the team took the opportunity to reset and invest in the second half of the season by refining individual skills. These improvements instantly came to fruition in a tight 12-10 loss to Michigan, followed by a 10-8 victory to snap a 29-game losing streak to Princeton. Harvard would pick up its second win against the Tigers in a dramatic overtime finish the following weekend. In the sudden death period, Halligan scored with less than 20 seconds left off a perfectly-placed lob into the corner of the net. Sophomore attacker Brooke Hourigan, who led the team with 56 goals, contributed four points to the consolidating

victory.

The Crimson then won three of its next four games, losing to Michigan for the second time that season, before its historic run in the conference championships.

Despite a disappointing end in its final match of the year, the women’s water polo team has much to look forward to in the fall and in the 2023 season. Banks, Thawley, and Tingler, as well as fellow rising seniors center defender Jaiden Miller and attacker Borden Wahl – who had 30 and 32 goals on the season, respectively – provide critical experience to a team featuring talented underclassmen as well as the four incoming members of the class of 2026. Nevertheless, the team is saying farewell to two of this season’s key players, Halligan and senior attacker Quinne Pursell.

“We graduate two big pieces to our program and culture,” conceded Minnis when asked about the upcoming year.

“Hopefully we can do some things that are going to help us continue the success and path that they started us down.”

“There are big shoes to fill, but I think that’s a good thing,” Thawley said. “The standard is set very high, and everyone knows that. We all are highly attune to the feelings and pride this team brought, and I don’t think anyone will expect anything less of themselves next year. The best is yet to come.”

Harvard will look to build off its first-ever championship appearance and numerous accolades in training next fall and in competition starting in the new year. noah.jun@thecrimson.com

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

A Dynamic Distance Duo COURTESY OF KEVIN GUNAWAN

By WILLIAM CONNAUGHTON

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

n Nov. 20, 2021, the Harvard men’s cross country team traveled down to Tallahassee, Fla. for the NCAA National Championship. Entering the race ranked No. 25 in the country, the Crimson men ran their best race of the season, placing 12th ahead of many ranked opponents. This race was the capstone moment of a historic year for Harvard distance runners. Leading the charge for the Crimson throughout the year were senior Matthew Pereira and sophomore Acer Iverson.

When asked about his favorite moments from his Harvard running career so far, Iverson responded quickly: “Proudest moment was definitely finishing 12th as a team at nationals for cross country,” he said. “Wrapping up our trio of All-Americans made it all the better.”

The Crimson was actually led on that day by freshman Graham Blanks, who

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placed 23rd. However, just behind Blanks finished Pereira in 35th and Iverson in 40th. All three runners were selected to the NCAA Division I All-American Team, which, as Pereira noted, was an honor only four teams in the country accomplished. For Pereira, this finish cemented his breakout senior season, bettering his finish in the 2019 NCAA championship by 30 spots.

“Performing at that meet is our primary focus of the entire season, so it felt like the previous two years of training had led up to it,” Pereira commented.

Pereira improved dramatically across his four years as a runner, a rarity in collegiate distance running, which is typically dominated by underclassmen and blue-chip talents. The Kildeer, Ill. native was not a scorer for the team as a freshman, placing 67th in the 2017 Ivy League Heptagonal Championships. By 2018, the then-sophomore was the fourth highest-scorer for the Crimson, placing 17th overall at Heps. As a junior, Pereira improved to be the third scorer, crossing

the finish line in 12th on the way to a second-place team finish at Heps and an AllIvy League Second Team nomination.

In his senior year, Pereira flipped a switch when Harvard traveled to the Nuttycombe Invitational in October.

In the field of over 230 runners, Pereira paced all Crimson runners, placing 27th overall. By comparison, at the same race in 2019, he finished 200th.

Two weeks later, Pereira won the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, becoming the school’s first individual champion since Kieran Tuntivate ’20 in 2018. At NCAA regionals, the Kildeer native placed fourth, helping Harvard qualify for the NCAA championships in backto-back years.

In 2020, the suspension of athletics across campus due to the Covid-19 pandemic pushed Harvard distance runners to take more agency over their training.

To support this effort, a group of approximately ten male and four female runners, including Pereira, moved out to Flagstaff, Ariz. to train at 7,000 feet and bond as a

unit.

“During the early part of Covid, training was very isolated for a while and pretty difficult. Later in the pandemic, taking time off from school or remote learning gave a few of us on the team the unique chance to train in Flagstaff, which was a really fantastic experience as it’s basically a distance running mecca,” he said.

“Flagstaff was beautiful, and the consistent high-mileage, hilly altitude training was a really big boost for fitness.”

Pereira also noted the importance of his durability during his college running career. In a sport where keeping your body in peak physical condition is critical, injuries can reduce training time and keep runners sidelined.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to not deal with any serious injuries in my time at Harvard, so for the past 3 years I’ve had the chance to string together a lot of great high-volume training blocks,” said Pereira when asked about his improvement over the years. “So the consistency of heavy training has been a big help,

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as was the spring in Flagstaff with challenging workouts and long run spots that made it easy to build fitness.”

Following his strong cross country season, Pereira continued to string together excellent performances in indoor and outdoor track and field. In the winter, he put up the 3rd best time in school history in the 5k and placed second in the 3k and 5k at indoor Heps. At the Payton Jordan Invitational, Pereira had his greatest individual moment yet, when he set a school and Ivy League record in the 10k with a blazing time of 27:45.77.

The time, which was the second fastest in the NCAA East Region this year, broke both a 20-year old Ivy League mark held

by Dartmouth’s Tom McArdle and Iverson’s Harvard record set earlier that winter. At outdoor Heps, Pereira crossed the line in second in the 10k, behind only Iverson. These performances have cemented him as one of the best distance runners in the nation.

Iverson has come into his own in the recent months. The Roseville, Minn. native began his Crimson career as a freshman in 2019, when he was well outside of the top five-scoring members of the team.

After taking a year off during Covid-19 pandemic, Iverson also saw incredible growth as a runner.

“We were able to make the most of 2020-21 by taking a gap year. It allowed me to take on some internships I wouldn’t have been able to, while giving running my full attention,” Iverson noted. “We are seeing the results of the development that happened over the gap year.”

In the fall, Iverson was part of the trio of All-American runners that helped push Harvard to be one of the top programs in the country. At the cross country Heps, he finished in fourth place and at NCAA Regionals, Iverson finished in fifth, one second behind Pereira.

After his strong fall performance, he found another level during the winter track season. At the Boston University Valentine Invitational, Iverson ran the 5k in 13:32.31, breaking the Crimson record previously held by Maksim Korolev ’14 by ten seconds while also setting a new Ivy League standard in the process.

At indoor Heps, the Roseville native captured individual titles in the 3k and the 5k, with Pereira just behind in second place for both events. The sophomore’s 5k time of 13:42.88 was a meet record. In the spring, at the Raleigh Relays, Iverson finished the 10k in 28:24.56, which bested the previous record set by Olympian Kieran Tuntivate ’20.

At the Payton Jordan Invitational two

months later, Iverson set a school and Ivy League record in the 5k, besting a 26year old Harvard record by over 15 seconds, which was previously held by Ian Carswell ’97. The performance was also enough to top the Ivy mark of 13:30.79, which Dartmouth’s Jim Sapienza set in 1985. In the 10k the same weekend, Pereira broke Iverson’s new school record in the 10k.

“Matt set a very impressive school record in the 10k this season,” noted Iverson on his goals going forward. “He’s raised the bar and redefined what it means to be a good runner at Harvard. I’ve got my eyes set on that 27:45.”

At outdoor Heps in the spring, Iverson continued his dominance in the Ivy League, capturing two more individual titles in the 5k and 10k and helping lead the Crimson to a second place finish and its best point total since 1983.

The Harvard cross country and track and field teams have come a long way in recent years, becoming a force not only in the Ivy League, but also in the NCAA as a whole. Both Iverson and Pereira are talented individual runners who are representative of the strength of the program across the board.

“Our training group is incredibly cohesive and talented this year,” Iverson

commented. “We’ve been able to push each other harder than ever before. I think that’s the biggest key to the recent surge in success both individually and across the program.”

While Iverson has two more years of eligibility to run for the Crimson, Pereira will be graduating and moving on to different pursuits.

“After graduating, I’m going to work as a software engineer and probably take a break from serious running for a bit,” Pereira said. “I’ve loved my experience running competitively at Harvard, but I’m ready to see how things are with running playing a smaller role in my life. I think I’ll miss it pretty soon though, we’ll see.“ Despite graduating a decorated individual contributor like Pereira, the men’s distance team is in good hands. Iverson and Blanks represent a strong duo looking to build off their record-setting 2021 seasons, while junior captain David Melville and sophomore Ben Hartvigsen are two scorers returning for Harvard next year. With Ivy League coach of the year Alex Gibby at the helm, big things await Iverson and the rest of the distance running team. william.connaughton@thecrimson.com

ZADOC I.N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Parting Shot: A Place for Sports Amidst the Apathy

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By AMIR MAMDANI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

still vividly remember March 10, 2020, the day the Ivy League canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournament. By doing so, the league awarded Yale — the regular season champions — the automatic bid to March Madness. I was filled with rage, a burning sense of unfairness, and despair at the idea that I might never be able to cover Harvard men’s basketball at the NCAA tournament, which had been my dream since I assumed the men’s basketball beat my sophomore year.

But less than a week later, like so many on campus and around the world, my perspective had shifted entirely. March Madness had been canceled, as had the rest of the semester in person, and nothing relating to basketball seemed important anymore.

A year and a half later, I returned to campus this fall as a 23-year-old super senior. Despite my age, I was oddly worried about finding my way at Harvard again, not entirely dissimilar from how I felt the fall of my freshman year. I remember going to the Activities Fair — cynical at the prospect of actually finding an organization I wanted to join — and stumbling upon Crimson Sports. Nearly five years later, I find myself feeling nostalgic, unable to escape the feeling that my relationship with the Sports Board has come full circle.

There are many things about Harvard that differentiate it from the typical college experience. One of the most salient examples of that, for me, is the general disregard with which Harvard students engage with sports. From half-hearted attendance to the actual game at Harvard-Yale and lackluster enthusiasm about the Beanpot or other unique opportunities to cheer on the Crimson, to snide remarks and opinion pieces about the role of athletics at our school, there is no shortage of criticism or indifference levied towards Harvard sports.

Although I certainly didn’t expect Harvard to have the same school spir-

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ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

it and enthusiasm as one might find at a state school, sports had always been a huge part of my life. Joining Crimson Sports brought me a haven in which people revel in sharing ESPN+ highlights and obscure Ivy League sports tweets, a place I never knew I needed on campus until I became a part of it. A place where the 4:50 a.m. later winter wakeups that countless athletes undertake are viewed with admiration, not apathy.

Four and a half years later, as I reflect upon my time here in Cambridge in the nine days before I graduate, my appreciation for the Crimson Sports Board and all it has given me has grown immensely.

When I first joined the Sports Board as a freshman with Joey Minatel and Eamon McLoughlin, two members in my comp

class who would become close friends, I didn’t have any expectations for what my involvement would look like. Two months later, I was thrust into the heat of an Ivy League basketball season, covering the women’s basketball team and its run to the inaugural Ivy League tournament. For my next three years on campus, I covered the men’s basketball team, a privilege that is on a very short list of experiences that have truly defined my time at Harvard.

Although the team never reached March Madness in my time on campus, writing the men’s basketball beat for three seasons afforded me opportunities few student journalists could ever dream of.

Harvard’s game in early 2019 in front

of over 21,000 at the hallowed Dean Dome — home of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels — and asking legendary Coach Roy Williams a question, as I sat next to reporters from ESPN and tThe Athletic. Interviewing Jeremy Lin in the Atlanta Hawks locker room for my piece on his time at Harvard, as future Hall-ofFamer Vince Carter watched from just feet away. Conducting hour-long zoom interviews with MLB pitcher Brent Suter and NFL tight end Anthony Firkser — members of Harvard’s impressive list of alumni in sports — for my podcast, The River Rundown, which I couldn’t have hosted without my friend and multimedia whiz kid, Zing Gee. These are just a few of the memories I feel immensely grateful to have experienced through the Sports

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Board of The Crimson.

There have been countless wins I know I will never forget. From watching Harvard baseball clinch a place in the NCAA tournament after a dramatic win over Columbia, to watching Bryce Aiken hit a buzzer-beating three from nearly half-court to tie the game in a instant classic triple overtime win against Columbia on the hardwood, the moments in Cambridge have been truly unforgettable.

Growing up a basketball fan in New York City and watching the legendary Georgetown program dominate Big East tournaments at Madison Square Garden, I would have never imagined the opportunity to watch Harvard, my school, beat the Hoyas in Washington D.C., to win in the NIT. I have been able to witness so many athletic achievements and highlights that I know I will always associate with my time covering sports.

Crimson Sports has also afforded me the opportunity to deepen my relationships with many of Harvard’s incredible students. When I first joined the board, I was mentored and supported by an in-

credible cast of characters, hosted in upperclassmen dorms for watch parties and mixers alike.

Years later, I hope I have been able to play a similar role, as I have watched the composition of Crimson Sports continue to evolve into a fantastic, social, and passionate group of Harvard students. Moving forward, I know the Sports Board is in exceptional hands with Alex Wilson and Griffin Wong steering the ship.

I feel thankful to Coach Tommy Amaker, as well as many members of the men’s basketball team, who I have gotten to know and appreciate as people off of the court. There are few coaches, if any, that do a better job espousing the importance of the student portion of the “student-athlete.” The opportunities and exposure that Coach Amaker provides for his players, from the Breakfast Club, to meeting Jimmy Carter and Supreme Court Justices, makes Harvard men’s basketball one of the most unique programs in the country.

I am also grateful to my roommate and close friend, Howard Johnson, who has

served as the manager of the basketball team since freshman year, with whom I have been able to share road-trips across the Ivy League and countless scorechecks on the ESPN app.

Lastly, but certainly not least, there have been the stories I feel privileged to have written. There are individuals that have always inspired me in more ways that I could ever express in words. The story of Reed Farley, who returned from a torn ACL and multiple meniscus reconstructions to play one final time after 755 days away from game action, and someone I now call a friend. Countless articles regaling the impressive play of Seth Towns, to say nothing of his advocacy off of the court; of all the stories I have written, few, if any, have meant more than chronicling the importance of athletic advocacy in professional sports in the wake of George Floyd’s murder last summer.

Being a part of the Sports Board has given me more than I could ever have imagined. In my final days here, and in my final story for this newspaper, I am

filled with an immense amount of gratitude for the people with whom I have gotten to share Sports. I am thankful to the athletes and coaches who have committed themselves so deeply to sports at Harvard, and to all of those who have read along these past four and a half years.

Joining the Sports Board inspired me, in many respects, to pursue a career in sports. This summer, I’ll move to Colorado to start working in the front office of the Rockies, a path I can honestly say has been significantly impacted by my experience with Crimson Sports. A special thank you to Spencer Morris, Henry Zhu, and Will Boggs for everything you guys have done to inspire me and the rest of the group.

Being a part of the Sports Board has been an honor and a privilege. Amid the apathy towards sports that can sometimes reign supreme at Harvard, I hope that countless future students that love sports can have the same incredible experience that I’ve had. amir.mamdani@thecrimson.com

DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Parting Shot: My Greatest Achievement at Harvard

By WILLIAM C. BOGGS

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

hen I arrived on campus in 2018, I didn’t know a lot of things. I had an inkling about my concentration, but nothing set in stone, and I didn’t know many other incoming freshmen. Extracurriculars also presented a question mark. At the club fair, I beelined to several different booths, signing up for more mailing lists than I could realistically check. Despite all the unknowns, however, there was one thing I did know: I loved sports. I started playing hockey when I was five, so I knew I wanted to play on the men’s club hockey team.

Beyond playing sports, though, I loved following and talking about sports. Every day before school, from about age seven until high school, I would park myself in front of the TV to watch SportsCenter as I ate breakfast. Each Monday morning after a long NFL slate, I would get into spirited debates with my classmates and teachers about the previous day’s games or the woes of the Washington Commanders. I consumed everything from ESPN’s afternoon studio programming to newspaper articles to podcasts.

Interestingly, I also found myself to be a decent writer, and I enjoyed it too. In high school, I wrote for my student newspaper, and by my senior year, I became one of the editors-in-chief. So when I got to Harvard, I knew that a student publication might be a good fit. After testing out different writing outlets including half of the comp process for a political publication, Crimson Sports was the only one that stuck and stood the test of time. It combined two of my deepest interests in a way that other extracurriculars on campus did not. While the dual interest is the reason I joined Crimson Sports, it’s not the reason I stayed. To this day, some of my best friends at Harvard come from Crimson Sports — and one of my proudest achievements is leading the organization as co-chair.

Events and outings are a big part of what makes the sports board great. I still

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remember losing in the board beer pong tournament back in September 2018 in heartbreaking fashion — we blew a lead worse than the Falcons’ 28-3 Super Bowl collapse. The BYOB Dok Bua outing in May 2019 was definitely a festive occasion, and it was a pleasure to run it back in May 2022. Joey Minatel and I took a legendary picture at Hong Kong in November 2019 to celebrate the beginning of our tenure as co-chairs, which later became the board’s GroupMe avatar. In September 2021, A.J. Dilts and I teamed up in Spikeball as “Team Chairs” at the Sports-Multimedia mixer, and then we teamed up again to take on “Team Comp Directors” in the comper scavenger hunt in December 2021.

Events are really only half the story, though. The daily interactions and sustained friendships are what make Crimson Sports such a special place. Running into Zing Gee or Lucy Connor in the Adams D-Hall to scheme up the next sports social. Reading a closeout email penned by the comedic minds of Noah Jun and Alex Wilson. Seeing live text updates from Griffin Wong on how long his football gamer is going to be (hint: long).

Hearing Katharine Forst break down the ideal defensive scheme for the Harvard men’s lacrosse team. Bantering with Amir Mamdani in the GroupMe. And of course, I’ve got to shout out Jasper Goodman for road tripping to Dartmouth, collaborating on men’s hockey articles over Zoom during the dark days of Covid, and providing endless assists on page duty in the newsroom during the wee hours of the morning.

I love talking about sports, covering teams, and getting into debates as much as anyone else, and sure, that’s why I originally got into Crimson Sports. But as cliché as it sounds, the people are what kept me here. It’s crazy how something as small as a funny text in the sports GroupMe can brighten a tough day. During my time at Harvard, I’ve had the privilege to take a lot of cool classes, meet interesting people, and take part in fun extracurriculars.

Nonetheless, my greatest achievement at Harvard isn’t necessarily the grades I’ve gotten or the accolades I’ve won — it’s be-

ZADOC I.N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ing the chair of Crimson Sports and leading it through the Covid-19 pandemic. I became chair right before the pandemic, and during the virtual semesters, engagement was tough — after all, there were no games to cover. Community faltered and article production waned. To see how the board has rebounded to where it is today — with vibrant community, seamless

production, and better diversity than the board has had in recent memory — I am truly proud. I hope that I played a role in this renewal, and I know the board is in incredible hands under the leadership of Alex Wilson, Griffin Wong, Zing Gee, and Noah Jun. william.boggs@thecrimson.com

The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2022

Year in Sports Photos From New Haven to Cambridge — and everywhere far and in between — Harvard athletes and fans alike were more than excited to return to action this year.

Through heartbreak and triumph, the Crimson came back in force, winning championships, setting records, and making deep runs to the NCAA tournament, shaping a year of Harvard sports for the history books. Thanks to the graduating Crimson sports photographers who helped capture them all: Owen A. Berger and Brendan J. Chapuis.

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER