Additionally, the Crimson will be without Pillinger, who pulled a muscle during a tournament earlier this year and is sitting out to avoid further aggravation.

“We’ll miss Alli,” Martire said. “She’s a great asset and a great player, but I think we have a lot of good players and we’ll be fine.”

Further worsening the situation for Harvard, freshman Melissa Anderson will be forced to sit out the tournament with tendinitis in her elbow.

Harvard’s top ranking should help by providing a slightly easier draw, but the team entering tomorrow’s competition is not the same as the one that earned its seed.

“We are defending champions,” Bajin said. “But we don’t have our full lineup, so we don’t have high expectations.”

With all the injuries, the team’s fate this weekend will likely rely upon the performance of Harvard’s freshmen.

“Our team’s real young but the freshmen have been great so far,” Bajin said. “I think there’s going to be some younger kids who don’t usually get the chance to play who will need to step up.”