The women's basketball team (5-3, 0-0) doesn't have a much cushier holiday schedule, but it does get a few more days off than the men do, after Christmas Day.

This Wednesday, the team plays Northeastern at home and then has a couple days to get down to Washington D.C. to play George Washington on the 21st and Loyola on the 23rd.

The women are then given leave to return home the night of the 23rd after their game and must report in on the 29th for practice (a.m., of course). Their next game is on January 4th against Dartmouth.

"I personally don't mind [playing over the holidays]." co-captain Kelly Black said. "...Actually, this year we get the longest [break] we've had since I've been here. My freshman year, we only had three days. For freshman, its really hard because you really want to go home and you can't go home for very long."

But the women's basketball team is a Division I team that is fast becoming one of the prides of Harvard athletics, winning the Ivy League title last season. There is certainly not much room on this squad, or on any other competitive Harvard team for that matter, for whining and complaining.

"This is my last basketball season and you only have four years where you have the opportunity to do this, so in the end [playing over the holidays] is worthwhile," senior guard Jessica Gelman said. "Its also a really big bonding experience being here with just the team over Christmas break."

"Every division one team gets a couple days off for Christmas and that's something you know when you come in to play." Black said. "...If you were to go home and just sit around for a week and come back--not only would you be out of shape but you're level of play would be way off its mark, I believe."

Men's Hockey

Unlike most other ECAC teams, the men's hockey team (5-5-2, 4-4-2) is not playing in a tournament over the holidays but is traveling to a part of the U.S. where many might think of as the definition of winter bleakness--Duluth, Minnesota--to play the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Freshman goalie J.R. Prestifilippo, however, had nothing but positive things to say about the team's trip.

"If anything, I think its even a little easier and more fun [to play over December break]," Prestifilippo said. "Being away from school gives you a chance to only concentrate on hockey and that doesn't happen too often....I'm excited to go home but I'm even more excited to go to Duluth and have a really good time."

Now that the team has won three and tied one in its last four games and is starting to play smart, aggressive hockey, the team's holiday play could keep the Crimson's momentum alive.

"I think it would be way too long of a time period to completely take off and expect to come back in top form the way you left..." Prestifilippo said. "I think [playing over Christmas break] will help maintain that level for us."

Wrestling

The fourth Harvard team to compete over the holiday break is the wrestling team, which is coming off of a very strong showing in the prestigious Las Vegas Invitational Tournament. Joel Friedman, Ed Mosley and Joe Killar are going to Northwestern in Chicago to wrestle in an invitational tournament that usually features an NCAA champion in one of the weight classes. The rest of the team is going to Pennsylvania to wrestle in the Wilkes Open.

"I have to leave on Christmas Day to come back to school here to get ready to wrestle in the midlands....I don't really mind, but it cuts your break short," Joe Killar said.

Since wrestling is a sport of discipline, weight-watching and intense training, an extended layoff would probably be more harmful to a wrestler than for almost any other athlete.

"Certainly you like to be home with your family, but at the same time I like to wrestle so it's part of my commitment," junior James Butera said. "We only have a certain number of matches we can get in before the year so its best if you can exhaust all of your possible competition time--one of the ways to do that is to get in as many tournaments as you can."

If anything, it is an inspiration to see so many Harvard athletes committed to their sport that they willingly sacrifice precious vacation time.

Gelman finished by putting her holiday competition commitment in a real-world perspective: "After college, you're never really going to have more than five or six days off over Christmas anyway," Gelman said. "So in a lot of ways we're kind of just getting prepared for real life."