Weekend Preview: Quite a Few Battles for the Summit

It's time for the Weekend Preview! Here's a rundown of the action:

The men and women’s basketball teams face off against Princeton and Penn, with the women taking on the Tigers and the Quakers at home while the men are on the road. The women play at the Lavietes Pavilion tonight and tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Both Harvard and Princeton are 3-0 in the Ivy League and will battle for first place in the conference, while Penn heads into the weekend with a 1-2 conference record.

The men’s basketball team has clearly looked like a contender for the top spot of the Ivy League. The men are 15-3 for the season, including a current eight-game win streak, and have bested their conference rivals in all four Ivy contests. However, the Tigers have taken down the Crimson in the teams’ last four meetings, which will prove a challenge for Harvard to maintain its streak. The last time the Crimson faced off against the Quakers, Harvard earned an 80-66 victory.

The women’s ice hockey squad also competes against Princeton, this time at home tonight at 7 p.m. The Crimson has defeated the Tigers in nine of the last 15 matchups. The team has another home match against Quinnipiac tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. Harvard has the upper hand in that matchup with a 9-2-0 overall record.

The men’s hockey squad is traveling to play another conference rival this weekend: Yale. The two teams face off tonight at 7 p.m. The Crimson was on a seven-game losing streak heading into last weekend, but broke out of the slump with a 6-2 win over Colgate. Harvard doesn’t hold a great record against other Ivy League opponents this campaign, going 0-6.

The men’s tennis team takes on Indiana this evening at 5 p.m. and William & Mary and Boston University on Sunday. Last weekend, the Crimson kicked off its dual action, splitting its two opening contests against Northwestern and Purdue. Last season, Indiana defeated Harvard, 6-1.

The women’s tennis team also has a home match this weekend against Boston College tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. The squad started off with an opening victory against Boston University, but lost its next two matchups to Northwestern and Boise St., 5-0 and 4-3, respectively. Harvard has beaten Boston College for the last two years and looks to extend the streak even further.

The women’s water polo team kicks off action this weekend with three matches. The Crimson takes on Boston College, Iona, and Villanova, all on Saturday throughout the day. The last meeting between Harvard and Boston College came in 2000, an encounter the Crimson won, 14-5. Harvard has never lost to Iona and has beaten Villanova the last nine matchups.

The men and women’s squash teams travel to Penn and Princeton this weekend to take on the Quakers and the Tigers. The men are currently 6-2, a record which includes a three-game win streak and a 2-1 conference record. Princeton is 6-1 for the season and Penn holds a 4-5 record. The women’s squad also has six wins for the season, but has not dropped a match so far and has gained the win 9-0 every time. Last year, the women defeated Penn, 8-1, and Princeton by a score of 6-3.

Last but certainly not least, the track and field teams heads into the weekend for the Battle of Beantown. Both teams are hoping to defend their titles from last year. The wrestling team also has matchups against Princeton and Penn, tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Finally, the skiing team heads to Vermont for the University of Vermont Carnival.