Mairead B. Baker

Sometimes, history has a way of repeating itself. Two years after making its deepest run in the NCAA tournament yet, No. 9 Harvard field hockey has found itself in a similar situation with a bid from the Ivy League and a November weekend plane ticket to some top-ranked school. But the Crimson only punched this ticket after the installation of the Ivy League’s new four-team, post-season tournament — of which it stands as the inaugural champions.

“My heart is on fire.” That’s what 2012 Olympic gold-medalist and European champion Natliia Dovgodko described when asked how she feels heading into the 2023 Head of the Charles Regatta to represent her home country, Ukraine.

With 16 games on the schedule this season, No. 14 Harvard field hockey only has eight battles left. Most recently, it drew the losing straw in a double-overtime quarrel with No. 4 Duke University — its only loss since a one-goal defeat to No. 7 University of Virginia back in early September. Over the first month of the campaign, the Crimson has been building up strength for its imminent Ivy League season.

Jenny Allard, a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame, departed Harvard after a nearly three-decade tenure to become the new head softball coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

Some Harvard students devote most of their time to studies, others spend hours split between the classroom and the field, while others begin their morning in one jersey and end their day in another. Well, just one: graduating senior and women’s basketball captain Maggie McCarthy.

Coming into collegiate athletics, an uncomfortable adjustment for many Division I athletes is no longer being in the starting lineup, playing in every game, or racking in the most minutes played. For Bronte-May Brough, a first-year on Harvard’s top-notch field hockey team, it was quite the opposite.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Harvard Athletics has showcased the achievements of Harvard female student-athletes, past and present, through a season’s worth of programming.

Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of spectators flocked to the Charles River to watch collegiate, club, and international rowers take part in the historic Head of the Charles Regatta. With the Regatta being tied to Harvard throughout its 55-year historical tradition, all four Crimson rowing teams opened their seasons at this regatta. Different Harvard boats won big at home, taking gold and silver medals back to their boathouses.

With only five games left in the regular season, No. 15 Harvard field hockey is making moves towards another Ivy League championship and NCAA tournament run. The Crimson has toppled two of their Ivy League rivals thus far, Penn and Yale, leaving three schools to go over the next few weeks.

With eight games down and six wins under its belt, No. 15 Harvard field hockey is off to a rocketing start this season. The first four games were against ranked opponents: Miami University (Ohio), University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, and American University, and the team has since opened Ivy play.

Nearly ten months ago, the Harvard field hockey team walked off Phyllis Oocker Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. as record breakers, making it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. In 2022, after its astounding run to the national semifinals last year, the Crimson is no longer the underdog—it is the team to beat.

Junior Ellie Shahbo is one of the top goalkeepers in NCAA hockey. Despite her first-rate statistics and key role in guiding Harvard field hockey to a 17-2 record, Shahbo credits her teammates for their success this season.

The water of the Charles River once again radiated with the sharp calls of the coxswains and glistened with the reflection of the oars with the return of the 56th Head of the Charles Regatta. This world-class competition brought in 2,231 boat entries from 619 different clubs across the globe to comp…

Even after four years of evading opponents in Blodgett Pool as a Harvard undergraduate, former Men’s Water Polo player Joseph H. Kaufman ’89 had never taken on a physical task as daunting as swimming the nearly 30-mile loop around Manhattan. That is until this summer, when Kaufman decided to take the plunge through the turbulent tides of the East, Harlem, and Hudson Rivers in New York City.

Slavikouski, the unanimous selection for Ivy League Rookie of the Year and the first Harvard wrestler to win the honor in 16 years, has been staying active despite the hiatus in Ancient Eight contests. Currently, he is training in his home country of Belarus and is set to compete at the U23 Nationals at the end of March, followed by the European Championships.