Harvard Varsity Club NEWS & VIEWS of Harvard Sports
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Harvard Varsity Club NEWS & VIEWS of Harvard Sports Volume 55 Issue No. 7 www.harvardvarsityclub.org May 21, 2013 Harvard Varsity Club 2013 Hall of Fame Dinner Fourteen Join the Ranks of Harvard’s Finest Athletics Prize as a senior. by Dan Scotchmer Ezra helped guide the men’s squash team to four consecu- Athletic Communications Intern tive national championships and Ivy League titles between 1994 Fourteen former Harvard student-athletes were inducted into and 1998. The two-time Ivy League Player of the Year won the the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the 1996 individual national championship, while placing second his Harvard Club of Boston May 3. The dinner hosted over 250 guests other three years at Harvard. He was also named to the All-Ivy in celebration of the Hall of League first team and NIRSA Fame Class of 2013. On average, All-Tournament four times and only about three percent of to the All-America first team letterwinners in each sport are three times. inducted into the Hall of Fame, Ralph was the catalyst for making it one of the greatest the most successful teams in not honors a Harvard athlete can only Harvard baseball history receive. but Ivy League history, as well. Elissa Hart-Mahan ’98, The 1997 Ivy League Player of Daniel Ezra ’98, Brian Ralph the Year helped lead the Crim- ’98, Michael Zimmerman son to a program and Ancient ’92, Tasha Cupp ’98, Michael Eight record 36 wins in 1998, Ferrucci ’98, Thomas Blake which included a 17-game win ’98, Mike Kiedel ’98, Ivy Po- streak. His 21-game hit streak choda ’98, Michal Gattnar ’98, is still a school record, and he Thomas McLaughlin ’98, An- is tied for first in single-season drew Rueb ’95, Allison Feaster home runs with 10 in 1997. ’98 and Matt Birk ’98 were all Ralph ranks third in both career Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame Class of 2013 home runs (18) and single-sea- welcomed into the Hall of Fame Photos Courtesy: David Silverman at the 47th induction ceremony, son hits (64). The two-time All- while Mike Giardi ’94 served as the master of ceremonies at the Ivy first-team selection also helped lead the Crimson to victories event. over Nicholls State and Tulane in the 1998 NCAA Regional. Hart-Mahan is the first women’s volleyball player to be A three-time First Team All-Ivy selection in singles and a inducted into the Hall of Fame. A four-year letterwinner for the four-time choice in doubles, Zimmerman was a key contributor Crimson, Hart-Mahan earned first team All-Ivy League honors in during the dominant run of men’s tennis in the 80s and 90s. Dur- 1996 and 1997. She also set the career record for blocks (287) and ing his time in Cambridge, the Crimson was consistently ranked solo blocks (142) while ranking second all-time in kills (1,398). She in the top-15 nationally and won four consecutive Ivy League holds the school single-season records for kills (511), solo blocks championships between 1989 -1992. The 1989 EITA Ivy League (53) and total blocks (138), which helped her earn the Mary G. Rookie of the Year was also tabbed twice as the EITA Ivy League Paget Prize and the Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women’s Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992, and he was named an All- Continued on page 4 Men’s Tennis Capture Ivy Title by Jeff Selesnick spring dual season. The team looked solid at the Harvard Winter Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Invite, its first action after the winter break, but the first dual of the season pitted a depleted Crimson squad against No. 30 Notre An early loss to Columbia seemed to doom the 2012 Harvard Dame in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. men’s tennis team. The league-favorite Lions assumed pole posi- Playing without two of its top six singles players, the Crim- tion in the Ivy standings in the first week of conference play and son stormed to the doubles point, highlighted by an 8-0 blanking had to navigate a challenging division schedule en route to the by the duo of freshman Nicholas Mahlangu and sophomore Alex crown. However, the parity in the Ivy League arose once again, Steinroeder on the third court. Steinroeder finished off a spec- leaving the door open for the tacular day with a straight-set win one-loss Crimson, and when at No. 2, and singles victories from then-freshman Denis Nguyen Mahlangu and Casey MacMaster ’14 put away one final volley in the sealed the dramatic 4-3 victory. regular-season finale against The drama continued in the Dartmouth, Harvard secured a weeks that followed, thanks to a pair dramatic and unexpected Ivy of 4-3 victories over Northwestern League title and NCAA tourna- and Vanderbilt Feb. 9-10, and three- ment berth. The Crimson went straight 4-3 wins over Princeton, In- on to defeat Virginia Tech in diana and Louisville Feb. 17-March the first round of NCAAs and 3. Riding a four-match winning challenged No. 12 Florida in a streak, the Crimson winged west for season-ending defeat. It was a its annual spring break trip, looking meaningful and successful sea- to repeat as Mission Valley Spring son for the men’s tennis squad, Classic champs with as healthy a but with lots of talent coming lineup as it had in months. Harvard back, fans were left to wonder got its feet wet with a convincing what the Crimson would do for an encore in 2013. 4-1 win over UAB in the tournament opener and advanced to the The fall schedule had its ups and downs for the Crimson. A finals on the strength of a 4-1 victory against tournament host No. quartet of talented freshmen provided a boost to the team ranks 37 San Diego State. Freshman Kelvin Lam and Steinroeder sealed and the team performed well at competitions like the USTA Col- the doubles point with a 9-7 win at No. 3 in the final and fresh- lege Invitational and ITA Northeast Regionals. However, a smat- man Nicky Hu’s third-set tiebreaker win capped a 4-2 victory tering of injuries kept the Harvard lineup in flux throughout the over No. 20 Drake and the tournament title. fall, and kept doubles teams from gelling in preparation for the The Crimson kept the ball rolling into the Ivy schedule and Spring Sports Recaps Baseball (10-31, 7-13 Ivy League) Women’s Water Polo (18-16) • Sophomore Tanner Anderson was named Ivy League Pitcher • Harvard went 1-1 on the first day of competition at the CWPA of the Week on April 23rd. Anderson earned the honor after Eastern Championships hosted by the University of Michigan. throwing a complete game masterpiece against Brown in game The Crimson took the first match against Notre Dame (Ohio), one of a doubleheader on April 21st. Anderson threw 138 pitches 15-4. Freshman Charlotte Hendrix led the offense with four in 10 innings, striking out five while allowing just six hits and goals and an assist and classmate Yoshi Andersen notched two two unearned runs for his second victory of the season. Brandon goals and two assists against the Falcons. Harvard lost its match Kregel ‘15 broke the 2-2 tie with a base hit to center field in the against Hartwick, 20-6, as the offense failed to gain any momen- top of the 10th and Nick Saathoff ‘15 drew a bases loaded walk tum against the Hawks. to give Anderson a two-run advantage. • The Crimson defeated George Washington University 11-9 to • The Crimson finished its season at Fenway Park in the consola- advance to the fifth-place game at the CWPA Eastern Champi- tion Beanpot game against Boston College on April 29th. Carlton onships. Sisters Aisha Price ‘13 and Shayna Price ‘14 were the Bailey ‘14 paced the Harvard offense with three singles,Mike stars of the game. Aisha scored four goals and notched an assist, Martin ‘15 added a pair of base hits, and Mitch Klug ‘16 con- while Shayna netted two goals and an assist. tributed a double and scored a run. Despite hitting the ball well, • Conference-rival Brown topped the Crimson 18-9 in the fifth- Harvard had 11 men left-on-base and fell to Boston College, 7-2. place game at the CWPA Eastern Championships. Despite a re- markable four-goal effort from Shayna Price as well as two goals Softball (22-22, 12-8 Ivy League) and an assist from Victoria Frager ’15, the Crimson couldn’t keep up with Brown’s efficient goal scoring. Harvard’s sixth- • Harvard softball scored 20 runs in a sweep of Quinnipiac, 9-4 place finish at Easterns is only the third time the Crimson have and 11-6, on April 18. Zoe Galindo ’16 and Katherine Lantz achieved the mark in program history. ‘15 broke the first game open in the bottom of the sixth inning swatting triples in the five run inning. Galindo hit another triple Golf in the second game and freshman knocked a Alyssa Siegmann • Harvard women’s golf captured its second-straight Ivy League triple to the left-centerfield gap. Championship defeating Princeton by a single stroke 909-910 at • Competing for the North Division title, Dartmouth edged Har- Trump National (N.J.) on April 26th. Freshman Christine Lin vard, 5-4, in eight innings, and the Big Green went on to sweep was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and earned All-Ivy the season-ending doubleheader.