Seasons in Bloom

With April upon us, it’s difficult to process that the 2025-26 academic year is almost over. Many Harvard teams have similarly wrapped up their seasons. With some sports falling under the radar, it’s only fair to give them their flowers and recap each team’s season.

Basketball

It may be a little awkward to include basketball as a “spring” sport since the teams have been playing since the end of October, but the season truly extends through the spring. Both the men’s and women’s teams had phenomenal seasons: the men’s team finished with a 17-12 record, while the women’s team finished 18-11. Against Ivy League teams specifically, both teams also boasted winning records.

The men’s team had some thrilling games throughout the season, including a tight overtime victory over Princeton and a Senior Night win over Columbia. Their season came to a close in a two-point loss in the Ivy League Semifinals to the University of Pennsylvania. We should still celebrate the amazing displays of grit and talent throughout the season.

The women’s team made a deeper postseason run, making it to the Ivy League Championship game, where they eventually fell to Princeton. Still, the team was invited to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, where they continued to put up strong performances. Two victories against Navy and Eastern Kentucky University put the women in the quarterfinals, but their season ended in a tough battle against the ranked Wisconsin team.

Both teams return developing talent, so stay tuned for next season.

Fencing

Similar to basketball, the fencing teams actually started competing back in November, but just finished this March. At the Ohio State Invitational, both the men’s and women’s teams performed strongly against some of the best collegiate competition in the country. The women dominated with an 8-0 record as a team, and the men followed with a 7-1 record.

Continuing that success, both teams swept their three matches at the Beanpot. Both teams prevailed over Brandeis, Boston College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, the teams faced adversity in January at the St. John’s Super Cup. During a tough day of back-to-back bouts, the women dropped three of five matches while the men dropped four.

The teams couldn’t dwell on the loss as their focus was on the Ivy League Tournament. Over a weekend of fierce bouts, the men brought back the trophy; meanwhile, the women came very close, but lost the chance to become back-to-back champions on a tiebreaker point.

Their seasons concluded a month later at the NCAA Championship. While both teams finished fourth in the team standings, individually, there were outstanding performances. Colin Heathcock ’28 tied for third in men’s saber. Jessica Zi Jia Guo ’27 won first in women’s foil, becoming a two-time NCAA Women’s Foil National Champion and joining only two other students in Harvard history to win multiple titles.

Squash

No, not the fall vegetable, the squash teams also saw their seasons come to a close in March. Both the men’s and women’s teams held onto winning records and a 4-2 record against Ivy League counterparts.

The teams started hot, both going 5-0 before the College Squash Association Individual National Championships. Over the five-day tournament, many put on amazing displays, but it was Caroline Fouts ’28 who stood out, battling to the championship match before falling to the first seed.

After a couple more matches, both teams geared up for the Ivy League tournament. Unfortunately, both lost in nail-biting 4-5 scores: the men fell in the championship, and the women in the semifinals. However, one final tournament remained: the CSA Team National Championships. Again, though the results were not what the teams wanted: the women lost to Princeton in the semifinals, and the men lost to Trinity in the championship match.

“This season was a lot of fun, and the team definitely grew a lot throughout the season … I am super proud of the potential of this team, and although we didn’t reach our main goal of winning Nationals, there were many other wins throughout the season!” Co-Captain Fouts said to the “Independent.”

Swimming and Diving

Another October-to-March sport, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams put on a show this season, finishing with 8-1 and 9-1 records, respectively. Both teams dominated early, with quick five-win runs, before competing in the Minnesota Invitational, where both finished third.

Their next big meet would be the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet, where both teams would beat Yale but fall to Princeton. Just a month later, the teams competed in the Ivy League Championships, where they finished in third. Anya Mostek ’26 and Nina Janmyr ’26 were named the Career High Point Swimmer and Career High Point Diver for their outstanding collegiate careers.

Next came the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, where Harvard would continue to put up strong performances. While none of the male divers qualified for the Championships in Atlanta, Janmyr clinched a spot. Alongside Janmyr, the women sent three others: Mostek, Sydney Lu ’26, and Alexandra Bastone ’27, and the men two: Adriano Arioti ’28 and William Mulgrew ’29.

Though none medaled, they demonstrated great discipline and strength throughout the week-long tournament. For many of the women, this marks the end of their great collegiate careers—and others look to maintain this high level of performance.

Skiing

The teams saw phenomenal individual performances throughout the season. Beginning just after the new year, they would compete in the St. Lawrence Carnival in New York for the Nordic side, followed by the Alpine section of the Colby Carnival in Maine, then back to St. Lawrence to finish Alpine, and finally returning to Colby for Nordic. Confused? Me too. 

While the team did not place as a team, many individuals consistently finished in the top 30, including the “Independent’s” own Clara Lake ’27 and Breagh Bridge ’27. Both men and women continued to compete before the March NCAA Championships in Utah.

Three skiers represented Harvard in the championships, with Luke Kearing ’26, Duncan Armstrong ’28, and Meredith Schwartz ’27 all qualifying. Though no one placed in the top 10, there was much to be proud of as the team looks to continue its upward momentum. Men’s team captain Bennett Hutchison ’28, relayed his excitement for the future of the team. “It was overall a really motivating season for the team; it really felt to me like we are on the brink of having a pretty big breakthrough,” he told the “Independent.” 

Wrestling

The men’s wrestling team had a tough season, finishing at .500 with a 6-6 record. Beginning back in November, the team battled throughout the season against elite talent. The team emerged victorious against Princeton and Brown, but fell to other Ivy League teams. In the Ivy League Championship at the beginning of March, the team placed sixth. Still, there were standouts from the Crimson. 

Senior Jimmy Harrington ’26 placed fourth in his weight class to secure a spot in the NCAA Championships. In Cleveland, Harrington won his first bout against the No. 13 wrestler. While he would fall to the fourth-best-ranked in the next round, Harrington’s back-to-back appearances at the big stage are impressive. Moreover, the team was awarded the D1 Team Scholar All-American Award for the wrestlers’ excellence academically and athletically.

To the Rest

Many sports are still ongoing throughout the semester or are just about to finish up. Regardless of the sport or level of success this season, we should recognize the effort, dedication, and talent it takes to even compete at Harvard. Many of these athletes continue to maintain the difficult balance of excelling in academics and athletics, which should be celebrated.

Tyler Dang ’28 (tylerdang@college.harvard.edu) is the Sports Editor of the “Independent.”