As we prepare for the Housing Day festivities, I thought I would take the time to determine which house is the most athletic. With really no valid way of accomplishing this, I turned to gocrimson.com stalking and decided to make a huge table tallying the number of varsity athletes in each house.
After the tallying was complete, Dunster came out victorious with a total number of 84 athletes affiliated with the house. I must admit that this is a rough estimate, since gocrimson fails to report the house for a number of sophomores, but there is another reason why Dunster comes out on top: its dining hall.
While it's true that Dunster has a lovely dining hall with real napkins and a spacious servery, the real reason it stands out is that it is open an entire 30 minutes later than every other dining hall. As a member of the track team, it is a fantastic feeling of relief after I walk out of Palmer Dixon, swear to myself as I look at the clock, and then realize I am actually going to make HUDS dinner since Dunster will be open.
The Dunster dining hall has spared me who-knows-how-much money after long, tough preseason practices. And what makes it better is that the grill also stays open longer for that extra protein after a lifting session. The funny thing is that if Harvard Hoochies were to walk into the Dunster dining hall at 7:30 P.M., they would probably faint at the sight of all of the athletes there. It's a different atmosphere at that time; practice bags are everywhere, teams sit by table like a high school cafeteria, and there are sports discussions to boot.
Even if Dunster didn't have the highest number of athletes, the dining hall would make up the difference because the number of athletes it brings in on a nightly basis definitely earns Dunster the title.
If you are like most people, you were probably pretty disappointed with the Oscars on Sunday night.
Save the unexpected showings by Cirque du Soleil and Angelina Jolie’s leg, depending on what you’re into, you probably were looking for something that had a little bit more pizazz.
Well I’m here to tell you that Billy Crystal is not the only one who can read minds.
We at The Crimson Sports know you all are dying to hear the winners of the Oscars, Harvard Athletics style—the Crimcademy Awards, if you will.
So before somebody cues the music to end my monologue, for your consideration…
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During the Sunday afternoon tilt between Jeremy Lin’s New York Knicks and the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, Spike Lee wore Lin’s Harvard No. 4 jersey in support of the team’s newest star. Lee wasn’t only repping Lin though when he donned the Crimson No. 4, he was also representing a number of other past and present Harvard athletes to do the number proud. Here are four Harvard athletes not named Lin to make a mark while wearing the number.
4. Brogan Berry ’12 – Women’s Basketball
Berry was the first Crimson player to start during her freshman year since 2001, and she quickly proved her worth by pulling down 10 rebounds in her debut, an impressive feat for a point guard. Since then, she has only stepped up her game. As a senior, Berry is currently sixth in Harvard history in points and third in program history in assists. Last weekend, she became the first Ivy League player to record 1,300 points and 500 assists in a career.
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February may be the shortest calendar month, but it is not lacking in the big-game department. Here is a look at some of the games that could make or break seasons for squads with big postseason aspirations.
February 6 and February 13: Men’s Ice Hockey in Beanpot tournament
The Beanpot is the pinnacle of collegiate athletic traditions in a town that has been dubbed Sportstown USA. Since 1952, Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern have come together on the first two Monday nights in February to showcase their game on the biggest stage Boston has to offer, TD Garden. The Crimson, which has been crowned champion 10 times in the history of the tournament, will face off against 29-time champion No. 3 Boston University at 5 p.m. on Feb. 6. Win or lose, Harvard will play a second round game on Feb. 13. Can the Crimson keep its six-game point streak alive? Tune in to find out.
Note: The women’s consolation game will take place on Feb. 7 against Boston College at 5 p.m.
February 10 and February 25: Men’s Basketball vs. Penn
This home and home series should prove pivotal in an uncharacteristically strong Ivy League this year. Penn and No. 23 Harvard are the two remaining undefeated teams in the conference, so both games will have major implications. Harvard escaped Penn in overtime last season behind a clutch lay-up from co-captain Oliver McNally and strong overall play from then-sophomore Kyle Casey and co-captain Keith Wright. Don’t look for a similar result this year as the Crimson, a more deep and mature team, has not given up more than 70 points in a single game this season. The backcourt will however have its hands full with Zack Rosen, who leads all Ivy League point guards with 18.8 points per game.
February 11: Women’s Basketball at Princeton
How about a little love for the women’s basketball team? Despite losing key prospect Temi Fagbenle due to a technicality, the Crimson currently sits at 4-1 in Ivy play. The only conference blemish so far is a loss to Yale at home after surrendering a 10-point halftime lead. The Crimson will likely go into the match against undefeated Princeton on a four-game winning streak (depending on Friday night’s game with Penn). The matchup to watch is junior forward Emma Golen and Princeton’s Niveen Rasheed, who leads the Tigers with 16.7 points per game and 172 total rebounds. Plus, it’s a rivalry game, so watch out!
February 12: Men’s and Women’s Squash at Yale
In a large part of the country, it is unheard of to have a set of squash matches at the top of anybody’s must-see list. But here in Cambridge, we do things a little differently.
With its victory over Trinity, then-No. 2 Yale snapped a 252-match winning streak that was unparalleled in the history of intercollegiate athletics. And although the Bulldogs recently dropped a match to No. 3 Princeton, Harvard still has a daunting task ahead of it in a league showing more parity than ever before. This match should be fun for all involved.
On the women's side, the roles are reversed. The No. 1 Crimson has dropped just 11 individual matches on the way to a perfect season so far, and undefeated, second-ranked Yale will have to settle for the slight underdog role. But let's not forget that the Bulldogs squashed Harvard's dreams of a second straight national championship at the end of last season. One thing's for sure: this contest is sure to be a dogfight.
February 18: Men’s Basketball v. Yale
This game was supposed to be the headliner last month as well when Harvard came into a hostile Payne Whitney Gymnasium. But the battle turned into the biggest blow to Yale’s spirits since Harvard destroyed Yale, 45-7, in The Game (honorable mention to women’s hockey, which also beat up on the Bulldogs by a score of 8-0 on the same night as the basketball game). But hey, you never know. Yale’s big men, Greg Mangano and Jeremiah Kreisberg, could show up like they were supposed to the first time.
2011 was a big year in Harvard athletics. Women’s soccer captured its third Ivy League championship in four years. The men’s basketball team took home a share of the Ancient Eight title and entered the nation’s Top 25, both firsts in program history. Football set a modern-era program record for points in a season, scoring 374 points en route to a 9-1 finish and a league crown. Four other teams—men’s fencing, men’s heavyweight and lightweight crew, and softball—also finished 2011 on top of the Ivy League standings.
There were a number of standout individual performances as well. Women’s fencer Alexandra Kiefer captured the NCAA Foil Individual title. Men’s basketball forward Keith Wright became just the second player in Harvard history to take home Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Women’s soccer and lacrosse captain Melanie Baskind was named to the First Team All-Ivy in two different sports and was selected as the Ivy League Player of the Year in soccer.
We at The Back Page have taken on the tall task of determining the best Harvard athlete of 2011. Here’s how it will go down: we’ve selected 16 standout Harvard athletes—eight male and eight female—and set up two single elimination brackets. Each round, Harvard’s finest will square off in head-to-head matchups. And based on their performances in 2011, we will determine who advances and who is eliminated until just one male and one female remain. Then, the two champs will square off to determine the top Harvard athlete of 2011.
After examining the matchup between Josue Ortiz and Walter Peppelman last night, we now turn to a faceoff between men's basketball star Keith Wright and men's volleyball standout Matt Jones.
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