“I think the guys will look back in reflection at the Princeton match,” Harvard coach Mike way said. “That moment sort of changed the attitude.”

The only loss suffered thereafter came against the Bantams, a squad that the Crimson has not found a way to down in its last 23 attempts.

“We’ve had good results against some of the competitors out there,” Scherl said.

Harvard’s top performers include junior Ali Farag. The junior hasn’t been seriously challenged all season, dropping not a single match all year playing in the No. 1 position.

Scherl and fellow co-captain Jason Michas have also been a key part of the squad’s success this campaign. Scherl and Michas have combined for 19 wins on the season, including the clincher against Yale this past Monday in front of the home fans.

The Crimson was dropped in the semi-finals of this tournament a year ago to the traditionally dominant group from Trinity by the score of 3-6.

The Bantams were crowned champion in 13 consecutive seasons before being upset last year by Princeton.

This season, Harvard has a checkered record against the top teams in the nation, taking three of five team and 25 of 45 individual matches from squads ranked inside the top eight.

“I don’t think anyone has a bye to the finals this year, so to speak,” said Scherl, referring to the top four seeds, Trinity, the Tigers, Harvard and the Bulldogs, respectively, expected to make the semis.

At least in the eyes of the coach, one key difference this time around should play to the Crimson’s advantage.

“Last year a couple of times we felt like we had a team of teenage boys,” Way said. “This is a team of young men.”

—Staff writer Daniel A. Grafstein can be reached at dgrafstein@college.harvard.edu.