Crimson Squads Face Key Contests this Weekend

With a number of Harvard teams in action this weekend, The Back Page takes a look at some of the biggest games for Crimson squads as the spring season approaches its conclusion.

Softball:

Following a tough loss at Boston College on Thursday, the Crimson softball team (17-18, 8-4 Ivy) looks to snap a three game losing streak at home against a struggling Yale squad (8-17, 2-8) over the weekend. The Crimson is in second place of the North Division of the Ivy League, and if the team can come out with four wins, the squad will be in contention for first place with a thus-far dominant Dartmouth team.

Men’s Tennis:

Coming off a 5-1 stretch and having won the Eastern College Athletic Conference title, the No. 34 men’s tennis team (17-6, 3-1 Ivy) is looking to move up in the Ivy League standings at Yale over the weekend. The Eli's (11-9, 1-3) are looking to snap a three game losing streak and have also dropped three in a row against Ivy League teams. The Crimson swept the Bulldogs earlier in the year, 4-0. After Friday’s game, the team will travel back home for senior night at home against Brown on Sunday.

Women’s Tennis:

Having suffered a loss to Penn last weekend, the women’s tennis team (7-9, 0-4 Ivy) is looking to snap a four game losing steak against a visiting Yale squad (8-9, 2-2) on Friday and away at Brown (2-2, 9-8) on Sunday. This weekend will represent the Crimson's first matchup against each team. If Harvard manages to emerge with a pair of wins this weekend, the team can climb in the conference standings as it faces another conference rival, Dartmouth, a week from now.

Men’s Lacrosse:

The Harvard men’s lacrosse team (6-6, 1-3 Ivy) comes into the weekend off a close loss last week against a visiting Penn team. The Crimson is facing a strong No. 19 Princeton squad (7-4, 3-1) away on Friday. Despite having a schedule ranked 10^th most difficult in the country, Harvard has managed to snag some wins against strong squads such as Cornell and Holy Cross. The game is among the Crimson’s most important as it would keep Harvard in contention for conference playoffs.