Weekend Preview: Harvard Teams Face Transition

This weekend will serve as a turning point for a number of Harvard squads as they prepare for postseason play.

First, the track & field and swimming teams head out to compete in their Ivy League Conference Championship meets. For many of these athletes, this weekend will be their last opportunity to compete as a team before national competition begins.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have double-headers again this weekend, with the men’s team visiting Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday. The men hope to close out the road portion of their schedule on a high note, before hosting Princeton and Penn next weekend.

The women, meanwhile, are set to host Brown and Yale this weekend, as they look to secure an NCAA berth.

The women’s ice hockey squad begins the ECAC quarterfinals against St. Lawrence in a best-of-three series to determine a spot in the semifinals. The men play two crucial games against Clarkson and St. Lawrence, finishing out the regular season before ECAC postseason play begins next weekend.

The women’s water polo team heads to Pennsylvania for the ECAC Championship. Harvard opens the weekend with a first-round match against Brown, and will then face either Iona or Bucknell on Saturday. If the Crimson, seeded sixth coming into the Championship, earns victories in its first two matchups, it will square off in the finals on Sunday.

The skiing team heads to the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships for its final race of the season. The team is looking to build upon recent success after finishing ninth in the Middlebury Carnival.

The women’s and men’s lacrosse teams open their seasons against non-conference opponents. The women will travel out to sunny Palo Alto, Calif., for a game against No. 13 Stanford on Sunday. The men open on Sunday as well against Canisius at home.