W. Swimming Toys With N.E.

Last night a broken down Harvard women's swim team transformed itself into a potential Ivy contender as it annihilated the Northeastern Huskies, 144-94.

After an unexpected defeat on Sunday at the hands of mighty Brown, the Crimson squad suited up again to face the lowly Huskies. Although last night's competition provided several great performances, it provoked more smiles and laughs than serious preparation as Harvard reeked havoc with the Huskies.

"Unlike the Brown dual meet, this meet had a nice relaxed atmosphere," said senior co-captain Steff Lawrence. "But we still wanted to step up for it and give it our all, and we did that."

The team would obviously like to forget the tribulations of Sunday's meet against the Bears, which they lost 198-101, but they also want to send out a message that they will swim fast at the end of the year.

"This was a good opportunity to hone our racing skills so we can beat Brown at Easterns," said sophomore standout Adrienne Leight. "But at the same time, we swam off events to get some variety and had a lot of fun during the meet."

While it was all business when the Crimson was in the water or on the boards, the mood was definitely light by the meets concluding race. Members of the Crimson diving squad even competed in the meet's concluding relays.

When they weren't swimming, Harvard's divers contributed with impressive performances on the boards as they battled against the Huskies' diving all-American, Cindy Peterson. Although Peterson proved unbeatable, breaking the pool record in the 3 meter, the Crimson qualified four more athletes for the regional NCAA qualifiers.

Sophomore Tracy Amber Thall, freshmen Ali Shipley and Kristin Hennings and junior Courtney Swain all scored high enough to secure a spot in that competition, joining freshman Camilla McLean, who qualified previously.

"All of the divers were incredibly tired from the meets this weekend," Thall said. "We still pulled through and nailed all of our dives, though."

Harvard drew inspiration from the incredible efforts of its divers. It dominated early on, getting first and second in the first relay.

It then followed that up with individual wins in the 1,000 freestyle and the 200 freestyle by senior co-captain Jen Steffen and freshman Pia Chock, respectively.

The Crimson would not relent, adding to their lead with several sweeps. It went 1-2-3 in both the 200 Individual Medley and in the 200 butterfly.

Some of the events featured races with only Crimson swimmers because the Huskies were simply too far behind. In fact, one of the meets most exciting moments came as freshman Kirra Brandon went head to head with freshman teammate Angie Peluse. Brandon pulled ahead with only a few yards left in the race to capture the victory.

If last night's swims and dives offer any indication of the state of the women's swimming team, it's clear that the Crimson has overcome the Brown fiasco.