Gemmel, Harvard’s ace who has never lost a match in her collegiate career, will look to lead Harvard to the championship—a place the Crimson was projected to reach from the first preseason poll.

Only this time, the Crimson would play the underdog to Yale’s alpha dog.

Gemmell, along with Mashruwala will look to continue her solid play, but other standout players—including national number seven, Junior Nirasha Guruge, and ninth ranked Senior June Tiong—will need to step up to avoid being swept again by Yale’s power players.

The Crimson knows that repeating last year’s championship-winning performance will be no easy feat. But, at the same time, after a regular season marked by both triumph and upset losses, Harvard knows what it will take to silence the naysayers in New Haven and around the Ivy League.

“A lot of the players have been watching the video of their matches this week and seeing what went wrong and what they can change tactically,” Gemmell said. “A clear game plan will make the difference if we do meet [the Bulldogs] in the final.”

During this tournament, the Crimson will look to prove if the third time really is the charm and possibly cement the status of what could be a budding dynasty.

“The most important thing is being able to support your teammates, really pushing them and believing in each other,” Mashruwala said, “Everyone is excited to go out there and show everyone what they have.”