Winter Sports

 

The icewomen (30-3-1 overall, 15-0-1 ECAC) skated one of their best teams ever, and were ranked first in the nation for most of the year. They won the Ivy and regular-season ECAC titles, plus the Beanpot tournament. Two losses stung. In the ECAC tournament final against Dartmouth, Harvard — which had bested the Big Green, 9-2 and 2-1, in their earlier meetings — dropped a 7-2 blowout. And in the NCAA finals, Minnesota-Duluth, which Harvard had beaten 2-1 in November, bagged a third consecutive national championship, taking a 4-3 heartbreaker from Harvard in double overtime.

Jennifer Botterill ’02 (’03) won her second Kazmeier Award, given to the premier individual player in women’s college hockey. The only repeat winner in the award’s six-year history, Botterill became the top scorer in the history of intercollegiate women’s ice hockey when she scored her 313th point in February. She and junior Angela Ruggiero were named to the all-America First Team; Julie Chu ’06 was a Second Team choice.

Men’s Ice Hockey

The men skaters got stronger with the season, and compiled their best record (22-10-2) in a decade. Harvard finished behind Cornell and Brown in the Ivies, but nearly retained their ECAC tournament title, losing to Cornell in overtime, 3-2. In the NCAA tournament’s first round, Boston University eliminated them, 6-4. Captain Dominic Moore ’03 led all scorers with 51 points.

 

Women’s Basketball

The netwomen (22-5, 14-0 Ivy) had their first perfect Ivy season in six years and repeated as Ivy champions. Hana Peljto ’04 also repeated as Ivy League Player of the Year. Peljto led the league in scoring (21.5 points per game) and rebounding (9.8 per game). Kansas State dropped Harvard, 79-69, in the NCAAs.

 

Men’s Basketball

The hoopsters (12-15, 4-10 Ivy) tied for fifth in the Ivies. In his final game, captain Brady Merchant ’03 tossed in 45 points for a Harvard record.