Cross and Mills Put to the Test at Olympics

From traveling to South America to learn Portuguese to interning on Wall Street, the Harvard community is hardly lacking when it comes to interesting summers.

But for senior Emily Cross and freshman Noam Mills of the Harvard fencing team, this summer went far beyond the norm for even the overly ambitious Harvard students.

This summer meant the fulfillment of a lifelong dream at the Olympics in Beijing.

“Ever since I was a child, my biggest dream was to go and succeed there,” Mills said. “So I fulfilled the first part, I got there, but I didn’t do so well.”

Competing in epee solely on the individual level, Mills made it to the round of 32 before being eliminated, finishing 22nd. Cross made it to the round of 32 in the foil before succumbing to nerves and posting a 17th-place finish.

“I think I was definitely overwhelmed,” Cross said. “There’s some kind of mental prep that you need, because there’s just so much at stake, you put so much of your life on hold for it. It was hard for me, I completely psyched myself out.”

Unlike Mills, however, Cross received the chance to redeem herself in the team competition, and that she did, leading the U.S. team with 31 touches in three rounds and helping it to upset last year’s world champion, Poland, in the first round.

At the end of the day, Cross found herself and her two teammates with silver medals around their necks.

“There are really no words to describe it,” Cross said. “It wasn’t something I really thought was possible. At the time, I didn’t think it was going to happen. It was the best day we could’ve possibly had. It was unbelievable.”

So what are Mills and Cross going to do after a gap year capped off by reaching the biggest event in all of sports?

Come back to Harvard to learn and compete at the collegiate level, of course.

The road to Cambridge has been a long one for Mills, who puts Harvard nearly on par with her summer activities.

A native of Kfar Saba, Israel, the freshman finished high school and served in the army before getting accepted to Harvard to join the class of 2011. After being admitted, the 2006 No. 1 junior epeeist in the world decided to defer for a year to attempt to qualify for Beijing. She now joins the community as a member of 2012.

“For me, Harvard, getting here, being here is almost as big as going to the Olympics was,” Mills said. “Being from Israel, it’s a different experience. I was really excited to come here.”

For Cross, who is returning just to finish her final year, Harvard provides a welcome respite from the hectic year she took off.

Traveling across the country and around the world to qualify, the senior barely got a chance to breathe in between competitions.

“It’s so nice [not to be competing for now],” Cross said. “It’s been so long since I’ve done anything remotely non-athletic, and it’s a real relief to relax and settle back into a regular routine. Someone asked when my next trip was, and I don’t have any plan, no reason to get on an airplane, which has made me so happy. It’s nice to just focus on school and live a normal life.”

With Mills and Cross obviously capable of contributing immediately to a Harvard squad that finished sixth nationally last spring, there are high hopes for each on both the individual and team levels.

“[Cross] seems pretty enthusiastic about the idea of coming back, which is quite remarkable after reaching the pinnacle of athletics,” Crimson coach Peter Brand said. “Her dedication to Harvard fencing is quite inspirational for everybody.

“[Mills] is a very tough person, very tough-minded, very athletic, and has tremendous aspirations for going [to the Olympics] again in ’12,” Brand added. “We’re very fortunate to have her. She’s very team oriented and is someone who will set a great example. I am very excited to have both her and Emily here.”

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.