The match gave Graham a reason to recollect the 1998 spring season when Harvard almost beat Stanford. The Cardinal was missing its top player but took Harvard for granted, and the Crimson lost just 5-4 in the pre-doubles point era.

Unlike 1998, in this match against North Carolina, both teams were giving their all.

“I think this a truer test of where we fit in than the team in the late 90s,” Graham said.

Right now Harvard is looking good in the national and the Ivy scene. The Crimson is the top-ranked team in the Ivy League, ahead of ECAC champion Yale at No. 35 and defending Ivy champion Penn at No. 40—a ranking Graham believes should be higher. In Graham’s eyes, the league is tougher than it ever has been.

And though Harvard’s present Ivy championship drought of three years is its longest since the inception of Ivy women’s tennis, the Crimson—judging by its results so far—has the strong team it needs to win the toughest Ivy round-robin ever following spring break. But there are many matches to play before then.

“This is one of, it not the best, teams I’ve ever had here,” Graham said.

—Staff writer David R. De Remer can be reached at remer@fas.harvard.edu.