W. Swimming Excels

The Harvard women's swimming and diving team clobbered host Darmtouth and Cornell in double-dual meet action on Saturday, winning every event except the final relay.

The Crimson downed the Big Green 236-64 and sank the the Big Red 230-70.

Although the season has just begun, the Crimson (2-0, 2-0 Ivy) reassured host the Big Green (0-2, 0-2) and the Big Red (1-1, 1-1) that the top of the Ivy League will not be a welcome place.

Harvard's weekend was highlighted by a series of strong 1-2-3-4 finishes and a few double event winners.

The highlight of the meet came from sophomore superstar Kate Nadeau, who en route to claiming victory in the 200-yard butterfly, broke the Karl Michael Pool record in a time of 2:04.04.

"I am really excited to have broken the record," Nadeau said.

"It was a good swim. I'd love to go under two minutes and make the NCAA

'A' cut."

Nadeau doubled-up with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley, jetting to the wall in a time of 2:10.41. Nadeau out-touched freshman Emily Stapleton, who finished second at 2:10.88.

Stapleton was victorious in the 100-yard backstroke, lunging to victory in 59.43. She also teamed up with sophomore Erica DeBenedetto, junior Anna Fraser, and co-captain Janna McDougall for a win in the 200-yard medley relay, in a time of 1:48.90.

McDougall has returned for her final season in top form. She grabbed wins in the 50-yard freestyle (24.39) and 200-yard backstroke (2:06.62).

"The team performed extremely well," McDougall said. "We were especially inspired by Kate Nadeau's pool record."

That excitement carried junior Rachael O'Beirne to victory in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes. O'Beirne outpaced the competition in 1:06.94 and 2:24.58, respectively.

Junior freestyle ace Vicki Chang blew away the competition in the 1000-yard freestyle, motoring to the wall in 10:24.37.

Chang led a Harvard 1-2-3-4 sweep in the event. First-years Whitney Henderson, Steph Greco and Shannon McKinley easily edged out the rest of the field.

McKinley's fourth place finish was more than four seconds faster than the next competitor.

The Crimson's best managed to pull out individual event wins in some tighter races.

Junior Jane Humphries toyed with the field as she swam to a comfortable 1:56.39 and snatched a win in the 200-yard freestyle.

Freshman freestyler Molly Ward out-raced her opponents in the 100-yard freestyle, taking the win in 53.47. Ward was also the runner-up to McDougall in the 50 free.

Standout Anna Fraser fought off teammate Jill Ono in the 100-yard

butterfly. Fraser touched out Ono, 59.21 to 59.65.

Sophomore Abbie Davies proved her versatility with a win in the 500-yard freestyle, out-racing teammate Steph Greco into the wall. Davies snaked Greco, 5:08.70 to 5:09.48.

Divers Coral Day-Davis, Anne Osmun and Rene Paradise proved the

Crimson's depth on the boards.

The trio went 2-3-4 on the 1-meter.

On the 3-meter, Osmun, Paradise, and Day-Davis raked in the points

with a 2-4-5 finish.

Harvard had a very easy time trouncing its opponents at Dartmouth and used the races to test its abilities in this young season.

"I am pleased with the team's solid racing at Dartmouth," Vicki Chang said. "It shows that we are ready to take on the best of the Ivy League."

The test for Harvard will begin on Friday when the Crimson squares

off against Brown. For the past several years Brown had the best swimming team in the conference.

However, this year the Bears are headed by a new head coach, Peter Brown.

The Crimson needs to capitalize on whatever tentativeness the Bears might have as they step onto the deck of Blodgett Pool for their first meet of the season.

Two years ago on this campus, Harvard downed Brown, 196-103.

The rumble begins Friday at 5pm at Blodgett Pool.