"We played really well [at Fordham]," said Zimmerman, the team's captain. "It was like a completely different team [from earlier in the season]."

However, the team that sometimes "didn't show up," failed to show up several more times this season. The Crimson's one loss during its initial winning stretch was a 10-9 setback to lowly MIT, a sign of the dismal week to come.

Harvard lost five straight matches from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4, including all four of its contests at the Princeton-hosted North/South Invitational. As if shot in the arm by defeat, however, the Crimson recovered from its New Jersey drive by closing the season a respectable 8-8.

Harvard followed its competitive play in California by trading wins and losses, yet gaining confidence, through the close of the season.

The team's final regular-season match, a 10-6 win over Boston College, avenged a 13-7 season-opening loss to the Eagles, and represented the Crimson's best effort of the regular season.

"The team really was there in a way I haven't seen it before--mentally, physically, everything," said Bliesath after the win. "It was really a beautiful game."

The Crimson carried the momentum from the B.C. win into Northerns. The score of its 13-4 opening-round loss to top-seeded Queens belies the competitiveness of the match, which stood at 5-3 at halftime.