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The Harvard men's swimming team captured a key ECAC match on Saturday when it defeated Army, 126-89, at Blodgett Pool.
The Crimson (6-1 overall, 4-0 ECAC, 2-0 Ivy) managed to win nine out of the 13 events to avenge last year's tough 58-55 loss to the Cadets at West Point, which was the only one of two losses Harvard suffered last year.
"I thought it was a good win to end the first half of the season," Co-Captain Chris Smith said. "We had a few goals to set for the season and one of bigesst goals was to beat Army."
Freshman Scott Jaffe led a Crimson contigent that was determined to prove that last year's loss was just a fluke. Not only did Jaffe qualify for the NCAA Championships held next spring with his time of 2:02.39 in the 200 breaststroke, but his time of 1:51.79 in the 200 individual medley set was good enough for him to capture that event also. His NCAA qualifying time in the breastroke was the fastest in the nation so far this year.
"I was pleased with the time," said Jaffe, referring to his mark which earned him a trip to Indianapolis April 7-9, "but I could have improved technically, which is something I have to work on. I'm sure I could beat my time."
Jaffe closed out the afternoon with another meet record. The winning time of 3:04.83 for Harvard's quartet of Jaffe, Keith Kaplan, Mark Shagena and Chris Smith in the 400 fresstyle relay bested Army's time by a full seven seconds.
Senior Jeff Peltier set another meet record in the 200 backstroke with his time of 1:53.56. Peltier also finished second in the 200 butterfly.
"The team this year against Army was totally different from last year," Peltier said. "Last year, it seems we were just a bunch of individuals on the pool deck. This year, we were more of a team."
Bingo
Other highlights of the meet included junior diver Pat Healy, who easily defeated the Cadets' top three divers (Brynt Parmeter, David Jones and Jim Walton) by more than 40 points in both the one and three-meter diving events.
As for the Crimson's performance overall, Harvard swimmers finished in the first three spots in three events and the first two spots in five events.
"We really pulled together," Peltier said. "We had something to prove against Army. We just stuck it to them."
After the Christmas break, the swimmers will set their sights on the second half of the season, which begins January 9 at Dartmouth.
"This [win against Army] is going to be a springboard for us," Peltier said. "It reassures us that we can come back." Russell Nabs First Place in Harvard Meet
In the second-annual Harvard Invitational track meet on Saturday, the Crimson got a chance to compete with some of the finest athletes in the Northeast, and came away very satisfied.
The meet, which was held at the Gordon Indoor Track Center, included athletes from all over New England, and involved teams from as far south as Philadelphia.
"All the results are very promising," Harvard Co-Captain James Russell said. "We got the experience of a big meet atmosphere which is much more impersonal than a dual or tri-meet. We were pleased with the overall performances."
Russell was the only Crimson performer to place first in an event. Russell's toss of 60-ft., 5 1/2-in. captured first place in the 35-lb. weight throw, set a meet record, and indicated that the Co-Captain is starting where he left off last season.
"I was pleased that it got out so far this early in the season," Russell said. "It's right about par with last season."
Several other Harvard men placed in the top three at the meet. Chris Sullivan took second in the high jump with a leap of 6-ft., 10-in., while Nick Sweeney captured third place in the shot put with a throw of 48-ft., 8 1/2-in.
Sophomore pole vaulter Mike Short, in his second collegiate meet, set a new personal best and placed third by clearing 14 feet. Short's vault was a full foot better than he was able to vault a week ago.
Sean Turbitt nabbed third place in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.5 seconds while the men's two-mile relay team captured third place with a time of 8:04.5.
Three freshmen had outstanding performances although none placed in the top three. John Mee and John Koenigsknecht both ran very well in the 400 meters, and Mauricio Velez took sixth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.6 seconds.
"Since it wasn't really a team meet," Russell said, "our goals were to get some big meet experience and to push ourselves to see how we would perform in a big meet. We're very pleased."
The Crimson women also turned in excellent performances as sophomores Tina Lount and Lise Vansen set a blistering pace in the 3000-meter run, and held on to finish second and third. Lount's time was 9:56.3, while Vansen finished in at 9:58.0.
Freshman Megan Young also made a fine showing in the high jump. Young's leap of 5-ft., 2 1/2-in. tied for third place in the event.
In the 5000 meters, Julie Grialou and Romeny Resney set personal bests and qualified for the Easterns. Grialou's time of 16:45.7 was good enough for third place, and was fifth on Harvard's all-time list.
"We have several people who will be top competitors at any level, and we have a lot of depth," Co-Captain Katie Toner said.
"That's important," Toner added, "because a championship team is composed of front runners, backed by a lot of people who finish second and third." Wrestlers Nip Two of Three Over Weekend
The Harvard wrestling team saw the good, the bad, and the ugly all in one Saturday afternoon at Worcester.
In their first quad-meet of the season, the grapplers fell to a strong New Hampshire squad, but edged Worcester Polytechnic Institute and breezed through New York University. As a result of its performance, the Crimson evened its record to 3-3.
"The meet went surprisingly well," Co-Captain Pete Holmes said. "After losing to WPI for the last two years, it was nice to knock them off. We knew that UNH was going to beat us and that we were going to beat NYU."
The afternoon opened auspiciously with a welcome victory over the Engineers from Worcester. After falling behind to an early 16-3 deficit, the Crimson scored 20 unanswered points in the final five matches.
Alex Konovalchik, at 190 Ibs., delivered the mortal blow with a pin 59 seconds into the first period. Other clutch winners were John Freeman at 158, Holmes at 167, John Willoughby at 177, and Tony Consigli in the heavyweight match. Todd Cameron picked up three points for the Crimson with a decision in the 118-Ibs. class.
The rest of the meet was anticlimactic for the matsmen. UNH, paced by three pins and eight wins overall, ran up the score to an unattractive 38-5.
Harvard highlights against the Wildcats included Konovalchik's 9-3 decision, Harvard's only victory of the match. Sophomore Tim Kierstead scored a late takedown to salvage a 2-2 tie.
"UNH just has more depth, more balance, and more athletic talent," said Coach Jim Peckham. "They have great depth in every weight class."
And
The grapplers avenged their loss by pruning the NYU Violets, 32-12. Tony Consigli sealed the victory with a pin at 57 seconds in the first period. Other winners include Willoughby, Holmes, Freeman, Mark Vandermyde at 167 Ibs., John Liu at 126, and Cameron.
Peckham was encouraged by the performance of both Konovalchik and Consigli, both recent additions to the roster. Before their arrival to the team last week, the matsmen either forfeited the 190-Ib. and heavyweight matches or substituted wrestlers from lower weight classes.
"Its like having dinner without salad or a main course," Peckham said of the grapplers' earlier situation. "These guys now will be our meat and potatoes."
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