Aquawomen Torpedo Pair

If there was ever a time to be a Harvard swimmer, it was definitely this past weekend.

In almost fairy tale fashion, the Harvard women's swim team (6-2, 4-1 Ivy) soundly defeated archrival Princeton (4-3, 4-2) on Saturday afternoon at Blodgett Pool, clinching the Ivy Championship for the second straight year. In the end, however, the title was just as sweet.

"Everyone's mental state was focused on this meet," co-captain Laura Koerckel said. "It just paid off, everything paid off."

The entire tone of the meet seemed to be set in the first event. Spearheaded by its two 200 medley relay team, Harvard took both first and second places as well as the early 15-2 lead.

After that it was smooth sailing. The Crimson simply dominated, gaining first places in all but three events. Sophomore standout Jennifer Steffen nabbed three victories in the 200 (153.87 sec.) and 500 (503.96 sec.) freestyles as well as the 400 freestyle relay along with Koerckel, sophomore Sandie Stringfellow, and freshman Heather Lindman. Sophomore Mary Naber also won all her events--the 100 fly (56.79 sec.), the 200 fly (206.03 sec.) and the 200 individual medley (209.54 sec.).

Continuing the rout, freshman Christen Deveney ate up the backstroke category with two wins in both the 100 (58.58) and the 200 (204.96) backstroke.

But in the end, the victory was just a reminder of the power of an entire squad.

"It was really a team effort," co-captain Sarah Durkin said. "We couldn't ride behind one or two star individuals. It took everyone focusing."

One of the most exciting points of the meet came after Harvard swept both the 100 freestyle and the 200 backstroke. The crowd broke out in cheers of, "One, two, three" as the Crimson took a commanding 132-56 lead.

"The excitement and focus of our team as well as the crowd's support gave our team the momentum to trounce on the Tigers," Naber said.

To add insult to injury, Durkin and senior Emily Buckley took first and third place respectively in the 100 breaststroke and junior diver Kara Miller won the one meter diving competition with a score of 270.90.

A fitting end to the day occurred when Harvard swept the 200 IM and then went on to win the 400 freestyle relay.

After a dominating 194-106 victory over Princeton and then a 146-72 pounding of Pennsylvania yesterday, the team can now bask in the glory of another Ivy title. The only thing left to conquer is the Eastern Championships, to be held at the end of this month at Brown University. There, the Crimson will have an opportunity to avenge its loss to Yale and grasp the bragging rights of the league.

But for right now, the team is content to leave its home pool for the season with two solid wins and an Ivy title.

When asked if there could have been a better way of ending their careers at Blodgett Pool, both Koerckel and Durkin just smiled and shook their heads. That said it all--what a great day to be a Harvard swimmer. Princeton  104 Harvard  194 Penn  72 Harvard  146