“Our first few losses were a result of not having enough guys in the lineup,” Andy Nguyen said. “We lost to some bad teams because we couldn’t field a team. But gradually, we got healthier and showed what we could do.”

Nguyen cited two road victories over Vanderbilt and Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. in early February as crucial for building the team’s confidence.

After those two wins, the team found its rhythm in doubles and ripped off victories in 13 of its next 14 matches.

The Crimson’s success culminated with a win over Dartmouth to clinch the Ancient Eight crown and an NCAA tournament victory over Samford.

Harvard fell to No. 10 Mississippi State in the second round, ending its hopes of reaching the Round of 16.

“One of our goals was to make the Sweet 16,” Chaudhuri said. “We won the doubles point and pushed a really good team to potentially make it but fell just short.”

Entering this season, such lofty goals were emblematic of optimism that was ultimately justified. With just one departing senior, the goal of making an extended run in the NCAA tournament will become an expectation for the dominant squad in the Ivy League.

“We have all the ingredients to have another really fine team next year,” Fish said. “But we’ll have to play with the same kind of guts. We’ll have a target on our backs; we’ll have new freshmen, and guys will have to step up. We’re optimistic, but realistic.”

—Staff writer Justin C. Wong can be reached at justinwong@college.harvard.edu.