“For the entire year, we’ve been saying we’re going to take everybody seriously,” Chu said, “and rankings and numbers at this point don’t mean anything.

“It’s one tournament for all the marbles, so we’re going to treat Quinnipiac or whomever we’re playing the same way we’d treat [No. 1 and top seed] Illinois or [No. 9 and tenth seed] Stanford or any of those bigger name teams.”

But it certainly doesn’t hurt to play at home.

“I’m delighted we’re going to be able to host,” Fish said, adding that he was equally delighted that the women’s team would host its first two rounds as well.

“It’s a much more fun event [with both teams],” he said. “It sort of builds interest over the weekend.”

And the Crimson fans have much to be interested in. The team’s top seed was relatively surprising, but this is no time for Harvard to rest on its laurels.

Which is why, of course, the team tried not to stray from its regular practice routine yesterday.

“It was crazy,” Fish said of the squad’s mad dash to the television and back. “It was hard to get started again in practice, but that’s just part of the fun of getting ready for the NCAAs.

“Nobody made a big deal of it—it was just a little disruptive to take a half an hour out and come back and start again. But it’s a once a season type thing, so it’s not a big deal.”

Nor is the team’s 16-seed, according to Chu.

“It’s great,” he admitted, “but at the same time, just being the 16th seed isn’t enough.”

For now, though, the Crimson is looking forward to the first two rounds, which will commence the weekend of May 15 at the Beren Tennis Center.