The women's team, meanwhile, begins the year ranked third in the country behind two-time defending Howe Cup champion Princeton and current No. 1 Penn.

Last year the Crimson defeated both Penn and Princeton, 5-4 in the regular season. However, it fell to Princeton by the same score in the Howe Cup finals. Harvard has dropped an additional spot in the rankings from last year's finish due to the graduation of four seniors from last year's squad. But if the Ivy preseason scrimmages are any indication, the Crimson will be just as competitive as ever.

In the Ivy scrimmages, Harvard defeated Princeton, but fell to Penn by a narrow 5-4 margin.

"We know we're close to Penn now," Bajwa said. "So there's a self confidence with the women-we know we're not far behind."

The women's team is young this year. Only captain Blair Endresen, junior Virginia Brown, and junior Katie Gregory have more than two years of college experience.

With such a young team, Bajwa is excited about the potential that they have.

"With the women, what's good, is that we have a lot of potential that is untapped," said Bajwa. "That makes me feel that if we can tap that potential, we will catch up."