Knowing that the national championship was already secure, Brown then took the court realizing her match was about personal pride and team dominance.

"I was lucky in that my teammates made my match a little bit easier on me than it might have been," she said. "My victory was therefore very much a personal victory [and] a way to show the strength of our team."

The blend of close matches and decisive triumphs that elevated Harvard in the championship round was ultimately the same formula that helped the squad move through the main draw.

After soundly thrashing Dartmouth in the opening round, 9-0, the Crimson met defending Howe Cup champion Pennsylvania in the semifinals. Having already beaten the Quakers once this season in a close contest, the Crimson was well aware that the second match would not be a cakewalk.

Although Harvard had already won the match before No.1 Louisa Hall took the court, it was Hall's Herculean effort that symbolized Harvard's strong play throughout the weekend. The freshman endured a see-saw battle with 1st team All-American Runa Reta only to come out on top at the end.

"My match against Reta was so nice because I was starting to feel as though when matches got close I didn't have what it takes to pull through," Hall said. "But I feel like I remembered how to win [against Reta]."

In addition to Hall, Katie Gregory won at the No. 7 spot with a three- game sweep of Quincy Riley and Elias, Witcher, Harmeling and Wadhwa also prevailed for the Crimson.