Some Memorable Dates

April Fools' Day, 1989, the NCAA men's ice hockey championship, St. Paul, Minn.

The moment Ed Krayer's backhanded shot crawled past Minnesota goalie Robb Stauber in the overtime period of the title game, I thought that it was all some cruel joke.

Harvard hadn't won the game, 4-3. (Just kidding.) Krayer didn't score the game-winning goal (Ha, ha, made you look.) The Crimson didn't capture the NCAA crown. (April Fools.)

But the joke was on the 15,000 screaming Minnesotans and their beloved Golden Gophers. Peter Ciavaglia mugged Krayer by the far boards. Coach Bill Cleary leaped on to the ice looking for the first player in a Harvard jersey. ESPN's cameras caught him first, conducted its post-game interview and then let Cleary dance all over the ice.

Allen Bourbeau called it "pure madness." Stauber and his dazed mates leaned against the boards, buried their helmets in the ice and watched the Crimson celebrate. For the Gophers, it was pure sadness.

The Crimson players grabbed a banner from the stands that read "Harvard Crimson, 1989 NCAA Champions." They skated over to the small section of Harvard fans, a group of about 1000, the only noisy people in the St. Paul Civic Arena.

A couple of fans raised a sign that read "Cleary Country," usually reserved for Boston Garden, the place where two months earlier Harvard captured the Beanpot for the first time since 1981. But for just one brief moment in the Land of the Golden Gophers, those fans were right.

It was no cruel joke.

Earlier that day, April Fools' Day, 1989, Harvard swimmer David Berkoff was racing in the final meets of his career at the NCAA men's swimming and diving championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

Berkoff would end the day with another gold medal and another national record in 100-yd. backstroke. The record-breaking journey that had taken him from Cambridge to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and finally to Indianapolis had ended.

That day, Berkoff led the Crimson to a 17th place finish in the national championships, the best finish by a non-scholarship school as well as an Eastern team.

October 15, 1988, Dartmouth's Homecoming Day, Hanover, N.H. A cruel day for Harvard sports.

It began around 11:30 a.m. when the Dartmouth field hockey team blanked Harvard, 1-0.

On to the soccer fields.

The women's soccer team was shutout by the Green, 1-0, despite a brilliant 20-save debut performance by Harvard goalie Beth Reilly.

The men's team fared no better, dropping a 2-1 decision. The Crimson had to win the game to keep its hopes of an NCAA bid alive. But Doug MacGinnitie scored the game-winner late in the second half. No NCAA bid for the team many had tabbed as the favorite to win the national championship.

At least the first three games that Homecoming Day were close.

Later that afternoon at Dartmouth's Memorial Field, the Big Green football team was a mean, lean fighting machine. The defending Ivy champion Crimson committed six turnovers and fell, 38-7. Harvard's chances of finshing on top of the Ivy standings for the second year in a row were slim even before the game began.

After Big Green running back David Clark set an Ivy League record by scoring on a 97-yd. touchdown run and wide receiver Craig Morton caught seven passes for 199 yards, those chances disappeared.

February 14, 1989, Briggs Cage, the Harvard men's basketball team hosted the Duke Blue Devils, the nation's 11th-ranked team.

Trailing 32-21, Harvard went to the full-court press and racked up eight unanswered points. Duke 32, Harvard 29.

The Blue Devils outscored Harvard, 66-30, the rest of the way. But for those few minutes that Tuesday night at Briggs, the Crimson had excited the sellout crowd and challenged the big, bad visitors from the Harvard of the South.

November 19, 1988, The Stadium, The Game.

One Game ago at Yale Bowl, the Crimson captured the Ivy title with a 14-10 victory over the Elis. This year's Game may have lacked the drama of a title game, but not the desire.

Yale won, 26-17, and Harvard (2-8 overall, 2-5 Ivy) ended its worst season since 1950.

Earlier that day at Ohiri Field, the men's soccer team salvaged its season with its best offensive performance of the year, defeating Yale, 4-3.

Februrary 4, 1989, Jadwin Gym, Princeton, N.J.

The Harvard men's squash team, after collecting 72 consecutive victories, lost for the first time since February 6, 1982, dropping an 8-1 decision to a determined Princeton squad.

"We got our doors blown open," Co-Captain Doug Lifford said. "They rubbed our faces in mud. I hope we get something positive out of it. It was not a good day in Harvard squash."

But it was a good day in Harvard track, as both the men and women swept the Greater Boston Championships. Freshman Derek Horner, who captured three events, led the men's squad to its first title since 1976. The women's team, sparked by the performance of junior Meredith Rainey, easily defeated its competition.

It was also a good day for the women's swimming team, which trounced Princeton, 79-61. The win propelled the undefeated Crimson to its fourth-straight Ivy League title.

February 19, 1989, Bright Center.

While the men's hockey team is away, the women's squad will play.

Despite having three goals disallowed, the Crimson defeated Princeton, 4-1, and captured its third Ivy title in a row.

The crowd at Bright that afternoon might have been smaller that most Bright crowds. But the faithful who watched were rewarded with another Crimson celebration.

March 4, 1989, Jadwin Gym, Princeton, N.J.

The women's basketball team was still gunning for an Ivy League title, but the Crimson could not withstand the Tigers and lost, 71-54. Dartmouth clinched the championship.

Back in Cambridge, the Princeton men's swimming team won the Eastern title at Blodgett Pool. But Mr. Berkoff remained undefeated.

And to finish the Tiger sweep, the Princeton men's basketball squad captured the Ivy title with a 73-64 victory over Harvard at Briggs Cage.

May 3, 1989, Ohiri Field.

It was not the best of springs for the men's lacrosse team. The Crimson had lost six games in a row, inlcuding a 11-3 loss to Yale, the Ivy champs.

Yet on that afternoon, everyone forgot about the season for just a few hours. Led by Steve Lux's two hat tricks and Mickey Cavuoti's one trick, the Crimson defeated New Hampshire, 15-11.

Across the road at Palmer Dixon, the women's tennis team captured a share of the Ivy title--its seventh-straight--with a 7-2 victory over Princeton.

But the Ivy title did not result in a bid to the NCAA title for the Crimson. It was the first time since 1983 that Harvard missed a trip to the national tournament.

April 8, 1989, Palmer Dixon Courts.

Forget about being merciful, revenge is sweet.

After losing to Columbia for the last two years, the men's tennis team decided to collect, taming the Lions, 7-2. Sparked by the victory over Columbia, the Crimson went on to capture the EITA title.

April 30, 1988, Ohiri Field.

Forget about being merciful...

The women's lacrosse team, undefeated after 11 games, edged defending national champion Temple, 5-4. Char Joslin scored a hat trick, and the Crimson defense was as stingy as Mr. Magoo. Harvard remained the only unbeaten team in the nation.

On the banks of the Charles the day before, the Harvard and Radcliffe heavyweight crews continued to show why they were the best crews in the nation this spring. The Black and White ripped past Yale for the Case Cup. The Crimson nipped Penn and Navy for the Adams Cup.

The sweetest of all cups, the Eastern title, would soon find a home in Cambridge. Two weeks after their win over Penn, the Harvard heavies won the Eastern title in Worcester. The Harvard lightweights did the same. On May 21 in New Preston, Ct., the Radcliffe heavies bagged the Eastern crown.

February 25, 1989, Payne Whitney Gym, New Haven.

If you want to talk about perfection, you can turn to the game the men's basketball squad had against Yale. Freshman Ron Mitchell pumped in 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Harvard triumphed, 101-86.

"It's a matter of getting fed up with coming to practice and hearing 'We have to do this' and at halftime hearing 'We have to do that'" Co-Captain Neil Phillips said.

If you want to talk about perfection, you can turn to the Eastern women's swimming and diving championships at Penn State, where Harvard captured the title.

How big was the victory? The closest team to the first-place Crimson, Penn State, was 211.5 points away.

May 7, 1989, Soldiers Field.

For the first time in the history of Harvard softball, the Crimson had a chance to capture the Ivy title. But it had to face six-time defending champion Princeton.

The Tigers struck again and swept Harvard 8-2, 3-0.

First-year Coach Barry Haskell almost turned his rookie season into a title one.

Wait 'til next year, Barry.

On the Cornell baseball field in Ithaca, N.Y., the Harvard baseball team bounced out of the EIBL cellar with a sweep over the Big Red. The next day, the Crimson swept the Tigers in Princeton. Harvard had turned its mediocre season around.

See you later, basement. Nice knowing you.

May 21, 1989, the NCAA women's lacrosse championship game, West Chester, Pa.

In the land where lacrosse rules and teams from Pennsylvania use golden sticks, the Harvard women's lacrosse team ran out of time.

Trailing 6-1 in the first half, the Crimson bounced back. Late in the game, Co-Captain Lisi Bailliere cut the lead to 7-6. But the Nittany Lions took a page out of Dean Smith and stalled their way to a national title.

Harvard was still one of the best teams in the nation. No kidding around.