Advertisement

Commencement 2020 Sports

Year in Sports

Being a Part of Something: Parting Shot

Whether The Crimson is part of your Harvard experience or not, I urge you to be part of something. It’ll give you so much to be thankful for.

Another Year, Another Lesson
Men's Ice Hockey

Men's Hockey 2019-2020 Season Recap

The Crimson impressed with its skilled, young core but at times struggled with inconsistency. An abrupt end to the season due to COVID-19 leaves many questions unanswered.

Empty Gates
Year in Sports

A Note to Readers: A Year in Sports Unlike Any Other

Going forward, we hope to continue telling student-athlete stories, and we look forward to a time when we truly do have a “year” in sports to review, and not just two-thirds of one.

Taking Care of Business
Women's Squash

A ‘Quiet Warrior’: Gina Kennedy, Female Athlete of the Year

For many athletes, elevated expectations come with crippling performance challenges. But as Harvard squash champion Gina Kennedy went from being one of the top performers in the country to becoming the player to beat in all of women’s college squash, she dazzled under the spotlight.

All Smiles
Track and Cross Country

No Shoe, No Problem: Kieran Tuntivate, Male Athlete of the Year

On the second day of the Valentine Invitational at nearby BU, a Harvard runner would make history. Senior cross country and track star Kieran Tuntivate broke the once unthinkable four-minute barrier in the mile, crossing the finish line in 3:57.36.

If You Finish First, You Get to Celebrate First Too
Women's Swimming

Seconds Ahead of Second: Felicia Pasadyn, Female Rookie of the Year

It is not normal to be winning multiple races at the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships by several seconds, where races are often determined by fractions of a second. Nor is it normal to win every event you swim in at a championship meet — but that’s exactly what Pasadyn did this February at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Can't Catch These Zs
Men's Ice Hockey

Another Accolade: Nick Abruzzese, Male Rookie of the Year

The Crimson is not the only entity to give first-year forward Nick Abruzzese post-season accolades: his conference already has. The ECAC labeled him the rookie of the year in men’s ice hockey, thanks to a 44-point 2019-20 campaign. The conference also reserved spots for the first-year forward on the all-ECAC First Team and the ECAC All-Rookie team.

Four-of-a-Kind
Football

Catch Him if You Can: Aidan Borguet vs. Yale, Individual Performance of the Year

The game proceeded into near-darkness as a result of the delay and the 105-year-old Yale Bowl’s deficiency in the area of lighting fixtures. The Bulldogs overcame a 17-point deficit and completed the comeback with a victory in the second overtime. And, Harvard’s unassuming first-year running back Aidan Borguet set the rushing record and tied the scoring record for the historic rivalry.

Pure Bliss
Women's Ice Hockey

‘This Is Why We Get Skated So Much’: Women’s Ice Hockey Outlasts Yale, Team Performance of the Year

Over 102 minutes of game-play had elapsed, and even still, a winner had not yet been crowned. Everything was on the line as the mid-afternoon crept into the evening.

Let's Keep It Simple: National Champions
Women's Rugby

It's Lonely at the Top: Women's Rugby, National Champs and Team of the Year

On Mignone Field, in front of a large and boisterous home crowd, the Harvard women’s rugby team defeated Army West Point 18-7 to be named the 2019 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) National Champions for the first time in program history. After a season full of adversity and a couple stinging losses, the team pulled together to achieve a historic season.

Holding Up Number 1's
Men's Water Polo

Number 200: Men’s Water Polo vs. Princeton, Game of the Year

“I don’t think there was a feeling of anxiety or nervousness around the team, but I think that people definitely knew the pressure that was on us,” sophomore goalie Noah Hodge said. “Preparation-wise, everyone knew we just had to go out there and do what we’ve been doing all year.”

Lights Out
Football

The Game for the Ages: Football vs. Yale, Heartbreak of the Year

With four minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, The Game was Harvard’s to lose.

Triumph
Track and Cross Country

Setting Her Own Pace: Abbe Goldstein, Comeback of the Year

For Harvard distance runner Abbe Goldstein, the abrupt end to her junior track and field season due to COVID-19 did little to diminish the sweeping success of her 2020 campaign. Goldstein enjoyed a breakthrough performance on the track, and her work ethic, optimism, and resiliency have led to triumph off of it as well.

Scholar-Athletes
Women's Basketball

‘She Wouldn’t Back Down’: Inside Incoming Athletic Director Erin McDermott’s College Basketball Career

But McDermott is no stranger to Division I athletics. She brings to Harvard a background in Ivy League administration, having previously held top posts in the athletic departments at Columbia University and Princeton University. What is more, McDermott understands what it is like to be a Division I athlete because she was one herself.

Cause for Celebration
Women's Soccer

‘A Unicorn Class’: Women's Soccer Welcomes Historic Recruiting Class

Harvard women’s soccer’s Class of 2024 recruiting class is arguably the best in program history, with an incoming eight-member group ranked No. 5 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer. Among the recruits are three of the country’s top-12 prospects and six players with national team experience.

Advertisement