Swimmers Dominate Harvard Invite

Over the weekend the men's and women's swim teams discovered that in sports, just as in life, balance is key.

Instead of focusing all their efforts on one particular event, both squads turned in consistently solid performances en route to impressive victories in the third-annual Harvard Swimming Invitational, December 2-4. In both cases, Harvard faced some of the country's best teams.

The men were pitted against the nation's top-ranked team, Michigan, led by sophomore Olympian Tom Dolan, the world-record holder in the 200-individual medley. Thirteenth-ranked Florida, Yale and Boston University rounded off the competition.

The Florida-Harvard matchup had an interesting subplot. The Gators specifically reserved a slot in this meet hoping for a measure of revenge after Harvard's upset of the then-fifth ranked Gators last year in Florida.

"Florida didn't intimidate us that much," says senior Dave Heilman, who placed third in the 100 freestyle. "We expected we could repeat our performance of a year ago. They had two or three outstanding swimmers, but the rest were just average. We are much deeper."

From the very beginning of the meet, Michigan showed why it is highly regarded. Dolan won both the 500 freestyle and 200-individual medley, while teammate Gustavo Borges triumphed in the 50 freestyle. The Wolverines also walked off with the 400-medley relay.

But despite Michigan's excellence, its small 10-men squad could not compete with the Crimson's balance and depth.

Consider these results: three of the top eight finishers in the 50 freestyle, 400-medley relay, 200-backstroke, 200-breaststroke and 400-freestyle relay were Crimson. Harvard also claimed four of the top eight places in the 100-freestyle.

Particularly impressive was the Crimson's performance in team events. Harvard's "A" teams won both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, while the "B" team finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Freshman Brian Younger turned in one of the weekend's more impressive performances. Going head-to-head against Dolan in both the 500 and 1650 freestyles, he turned in second-place finishes in each event, nearly edging Dolan in the latter.

Senior Tim Carver also came through in the clutch, swimming in both freestyle victories and placing fourth in the 200 backstroke.

Overall, the Crimson finished with an impressive 832.5 points, handily edging the Gators (792) and Wolverines (783). Yale and BU finished a distant fouth and fifth, respectively.

Despite Harvard's victory, Hellman is realistic about its implications. He feels that the invitational's format, in which the top 16 swimmers earn points, was a definite advantage for the Crimson, which was able to exploit its depth.

In a dual meet (when two schools meet head-to-head), points are awarded only to the first five swimmers, and there is a limited number of events which each swimmer may enter. Thus, a team with only two or three good swimmers can dominate such a meet.

He adds that the team is focusing on the dual meet against Auburn in Florida December 18, and, ultimately, the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet of early February and the NCAAs.

The task facing the women's team was not much less intimidating. In addition to BU and Yale, the Crimson had to deal with a Florida team ranked third in the nation.

Florida started the tournament with a vengence, taking six of the first seven spots in the 500 freestyle and also winning the 50 freestyle, 200-freestyle relay, and 400-medley relay.

Harvard rebounded quickly, however, behind the performance of senior Deborah Kory, the winner of the 200-individual medley and the the highest of four Crimson swimmers who placed.

Thereafter the women's performance mirrored the men's: few victories, but enough solid finishes to secure an overall triumph.

The Crimson placed in three of eight spots in the 400 freestyle relay, three-of-seven in the 200 butterfly and 400 medley relay, four-of-eight in the 100 freestyle and a spectacular six-of-eight in the 50 freestyle.

Kory's triumph in the 200 breaststroke on the Invitational's final day helped to secure the victory. Overall, Harvard's score of 984 edged Florida's 912, with Yale and BU a distant third and fourth, respectively. Once again, the Invitational's format was crucial to the Crimson's victory.

"We didn't really expect to win," says senior Kristan Gately, who placed fourth in the 50 Freestyle and raced on the "A" relay team. "Florida is really talented--everyone's on scholarship, and they're really fast swimmers. We have a lot of depth and a lot of people, and Florida didn't have that many."

Although she acknowledges that the meet was not as important to the team as Ivy League contests, Gately says that the "swimming against swimmers of another level" successfully was "a great confidence builder."

She also hopes that racing in the Invitational will better prepare the team for February's Eastern championships, an event for which she says the team wants to be "at a peak." Each event features three consecutive days of swimming.