Aquawomen Rally to Torpedo Syracuse, 77-63

A dramatic victory in the final race of the day gave the Harvard women's swimming team a 77-63 win at Syracuse on Saturday, upping the Crimson's record to 4-3.

Leading just 70-63 entering the 400m freestyle relay--worth seven points--Harvard's Marie Ciepiela, Diana Watts, Molly Clark and Lisa Schauwecker swam to a 3:39.5 victory over the Orangewomen in the meet's last event.

The final relay of the day was in stark contrast to the first, however. Timing difficulties and a controversial call by the officials handed Syracuse a win in the 400m medley relay, which gave the hosts an early lead and sparked a Harvard comeback incentive.

The evenly matched squads traded leads for much of the meet, as the Crimson stayed above water thanks to double victories by Allison Greis in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and by Jennifer Goldberg in both diving events.

Kept afloat by Schauwecker's win in the 100m freestyle and Karen Dehmel's dominance in the 200m individual medley, the aquawomen threatened to inundate Syracuse but couldn't keep the hosts submerged. That is, until the final race of the afternoon.

"We knew if we swam well we would win." Co-Captain Anita Rival said. "It was just a matter of putting thoughts into action."

The Crimson had fallen to Syracuse last year, but team members were confident of victory this time around, according to Rival, despite swimming in a foreign pool.

The squad next travels to St. Petersburg, Fla. for a vacation training session in preparation for its 1985 Ivy League schedule.