Weekly Sports Preview: October 15–22

Lots are in store for Harvard Athletics fans this week! Seasoned East Coast residents may be familiar with the much-anticipated Head of the Charles Regatta. Meanwhile, team sports are concluding their regular season and gearing up for conference championship runs. With some of the most intense and anticipated challenges ahead, there’s no better time than now to watch your favorite Harvard sports!

Rowing

This weekend, Cambridge will host the Head of the Charles Regatta. From Friday to Sunday, nearly 12,000 competitors and 325,000 spectators are expected to attend the world’s largest two-day rowing regatta. All four of Harvard’s rowing teams—men’s heavyweight, women’s heavyweight, men’s lightweight, and women’s lightweight—will race on Saturday and Sunday. Both lightweight crews enter as defending champions, with the men looking to extend their four-year reign. This is the first and biggest race of the year for all Harvard athletes, giving fans an early glimpse of their new rosters. By far the best place to watch (in my humble opinion) is right on campus at Weeks Footbridge. As the race’s fifth bridge, Weeks gives spectators a perfect view of the iconic 90-degree turn—one of the most technically challenging and interesting parts of the race to watch.

Women’s Volleyball (12–2)

This weekend brings two conference home games for the Crimson. On Friday at 6 p.m., Harvard hosts defending Ivy League champions Princeton. Harvard is vying for its first Ivy League Tournament berth since 2023, so this matchup is a chance to prove it can hang with the defending champions. The Tigers have beaten Harvard in their last five meetings, but Princeton is only 3–2 in conference play and fourth in Ivy League standings this season. This game could be a season-defining Crimson win.

On Saturday at 5 p.m., the Crimson will play their second home game of the weekend against the University of Pennsylvania. This matchup carries lower stakes than the Princeton battle, pitting Harvard against a roster that failed to qualify for last year’s Ivy Tournament. They remain legitimate opponents for the Crimson, especially after taking down Brown—one of the only teams to beat Harvard this season—on Oct. 9. A win here will be critical for the Crimson to solidify their position as one of the top four Ivy League teams.

At the MAC this weekend, watch the Crimson’s rising first-year talent, including setter Catlin Shao ’30, a team assist leader who masterfully sets up kills for her teammates, and Masina Ogbechie ’30, who contributed key kills to carry the Crimson to victory against Columbia on October 9.

Cross Country

On Friday, the cross country squad heads to New York City. The men’s team will compete in the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championships, and the women will race in the complementary Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. This is the Crimson’s last regular-season race ahead of the Ivy League and NCAA Championship stretch, and a final tune-up for racers. On the women’s squad, first-year Aelo Curtis ’30 has led the Crimson’s scoring, highlighted by a 34th-place finish in her collegiate debut at the Providence Friar Invite. Meanwhile, the men’s team boasts high performers, including Tam Gavenas ’29, who posted the Ivy League’s best time at last week’s Nuttycombe Invitational, and captain Sam Burgess ’27, who finished top-30 in the same race.

Sailing

This weekend splits the Crimson sailing squad between two regattas. St. Mary’s City, Maryland, will host the Women’s Atlantic Coast Championship Final. Earlier this month, the pairs of Zoey Ziskind ’27 and Christina Chen ’27, and JJ Drummond ’27 and Kate Danielson ’28 carried the Crimson to a first-place finish in round one of the Championship. After finishing second at last year’s Championship finals, Harvard has a real shot at a title this weekend.

Meanwhile, a second squad will travel to Dartmouth to compete for the Captain Hurst Trophy. With the Open Atlantic Coast Championship Finals next weekend, this will be the Crimson’s final tune-up. In the open division, Harvard’s standouts include the duos of Harrison Strom ’28 and Zia Zucker ’30, and Jacob Posner ’29 and Amelie Zucker ’28, whose combined efforts at the Harry Andersen Trophy in September earned Harvard a second-place finish.

Women’s Rugby (4–0)

Harvard’s three-time defending national champions will hit the road this Saturday, traveling to St. Charles, Missouri, for a 1 p.m. game against Lindenwood. For the second year in a row, the Crimson remain undefeated and have already claimed the Ivy League champion title. Harvard has never lost a fifteen-a-side rugby game to Lindenwood, but this is the farthest the Crimson will travel in the regular season—a road game designed to test Harvard’s performance under pressure after a long travel day. Heading into the championship season, keep an eye on Morgan Gibson ’29, whose wing speed has made her one of the Crimson’s leading try scorers this semester, and Jojo “Stiff Arm” Mignone ’28, who earned her nickname for her ability to fend off defenders near the try line.

Football (4–0)

On Saturday at 1 p.m., football hosts Holy Cross at Harvard Stadium. The Crimson are current favorites to win their fourth consecutive Ivy League champion title and have won the last three matchups in this series. This should be a lower-stakes opportunity for the Crimson to solidify their systems ahead of a five-game Ivy League run. Fans should watch quarterback Charlie Smith ’29, whose three passing touchdowns against Cornell were a career best and who is developing as a leader. On defense, linebacker Dorsey Benefield ’28 leads the team in total tackles, while linebacker and All-Ivy League First Team Honoree Sean Line ’27 stands out with sacks and tackles for loss. As their last non-conference match of the season, the game may let the Crimson experiment with new tactics and lineups.

Field Hockey (10–1)

Another Harvard team with a two-game weekend, field hockey will travel to Providence on Saturday for a noon conference game against Brown. After an upset victory over then-No. 5 Wake Forest, the Crimson are ranked fourth in the nation. After last year’s semi-final run, Harvard is eyeing its first NCAA national title in program history. The Bears are 1–3 in conference play, so the Crimson should win more easily.

On Sunday at 1 p.m., Harvard hosts Boston University on Berylson Field. This non-conference game against defending Patriot League champions will challenge the Crimson, but the matchup favors Harvard, which hasn’t lost this series since 2015. First-year forward Evie Smith ’30 is already making an impact on the pitch, leading the team in shots and shots on goal, while Sage Piekarski ’27, who led the Ivy League in goals last year, is Harvard’s top scoring threat this season.

Women’s Soccer

On Saturday at 1 p.m., women’s soccer hosts Yale for one of their last home games of the season. Harvard is one of three teams tied for second in the Ivy League standings, so every match is critical to the Crimson’s bid to stay in the top four and qualify for the Ivy Tournament. Yale has yet to win a conference game this season so this match will be the final test of Harvard’s strategy before next week’s game against Ivy leader Brown. Watch forward captain Ólöf Kristinsdóttir ’27 and first-year standout Brooke Huleatt ’30, tied for the Ivy League lead in goals this season.

Men’s Water Polo

This weekend, water polo hosts the Harvard Invitational at Blodgett Pool. Harvard has three games on the slate: Saturday against Navy at 10:30 a.m. and the University of California, Merced at 6 p.m., and Sunday against Pomona-Pitzer at 10 a.m. This non-conference slate is highlighted by the Crimson’s rematch opportunity against Navy after a close loss at the Princeton Invitational. Fans coming to watch this free home game can expect a tight, physical match. The Crimson must avoid underestimating their other opponents this weekend, including 2025 Division III runners-up Pomona-Pitzer—upsets become increasingly likely as fatigue sets in on day two of the tournament.

Men’s Soccer (3–5–2)

On Saturday at 7 p.m., the Crimson play at Yale. Early conference standings rank Harvard second in the Ivy League after last week’s victories over Columbia and Brown. While this is likely one of their lightest conference matchups of the season—the Bulldogs still haven’t secured a conference win—Harvard must avoid being overly hubristic. Recent results in this series have been mixed, with last year’s meeting ending in a 1–1 tie, so this is far from a sure win for the Crimson.

On Wednesday at 7 p.m., the Crimson will host Stonehill at Jordan Field. This non-conference mid-week match breaks up two Ivy League games and gives the Crimson a chance to test their tactics against a relatively unfamiliar opponent—this is only the third time the teams have met, and the series is tied 1–1. To keep winning, the Crimson will need forwards like Adam Poliakov ’29, who scored both goals in last week’s victory over Brown, and goalkeepers like Jason Broome ’29, whose three-save shutout against Columbia gave the Crimson their first conference win of the season.

As they wrap up the regular season and prepare for their biggest challenges yet, show Crimson Athletics some love this week! Order a HUDS takeaway lunch and picnic along the Charles, grab a courtside seat at the MAC, or host an ESPN watch party in your dorm—just cheer for the Crimson!

Lucy Duncan ’28 (lduncan@college.harvard.edu) writes Sports for the “Harvard Independent.”