The Fab Five: Harvard’s Top Fall Varsity Teams, Week 1

Just over three weeks into their fall seasons, several Harvard varsity athletic teams have had strong starts to their years. Here is a look at the Crimson’s five best fall teams and their most notable achievements thus far.

5. Football

The Crimson rebounded from a 30-22 loss at Holy Cross with an impressive 24-7 victory over Brown last Friday night. Junior back-up quarterback Colton Chapple threw for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win. The team will look to improve its record on Oct. 1 at Lafayette, a team that beat Ivy-League favorite Penn handily two weeks ago.

4. Women’s Volleyball

Led by the strong defensive play of senior libero Christine Wu and the dominant offensive attack of freshman outside hitter Tara Maclean, Harvard sits on a 7-4 record. Just about midway through its season, the Crimson will continue Ivy League play on Friday at Princeton.

3. Women’s Tennis

In her first intercollegiate competition this year, junior Kristin Norton won championships in both the “A” flight singles and doubles brackets at the Harvard Fall Classic. The team shows promise, even without senior and last year’s captain Holly Cao. The Crimson will travel to California this weekend to compete in the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championship.

2. Sailing

After finishing second at both the Harry Anderson Trophy and the FJ Invitational, the Crimson co-ed squad earned its first victory of the season at the Professor Stedman Hood Trophy last weekend. The team will compete in the Charles River Invitational on Sunday.

1. Women’s Golf

Harvard opened its season with team victories at both the Yale and Princeton Invitational tournaments. Freshman Tiffany Lim led the Crimson, winning the individual titles at The Course at Yale and Springdale Golf Club in New Jersey. The Crimson look to continue its success this weekend at the Nittany Lion Invitational at Penn State.