Women Tankers Second But Happy

Sophomore swimmer Gretta Stephenson was suffering laryngitis yesterday afternoon, but it wasn't from being outside in frigid Cambridge.

"I did a lot of cheering over the weekend," she said.

So did the other members of the highly-spirited Harvard women's swimming team, which spent this past weekend at Eastern Championships in Princeton, N.J., where it translated its enthusiasm into a second-place finish.

Only Princeton managed to defeat Harvard, amassing 718 points to Harvard's 518.5. Nevertheless, the Harvard women's team was not displeased.

"We pretty much knew Princeton was really strong team," co-captain Sabrina Corlette said.

"Princeton had a lot of depth and an unbelievable recruiting year," Corlette said.

Still, Harvard enjoyed tremendous success in the water, with a staggering number of swimmers swimming their personal best times in their events.

Topping this list was Steffenson, who shaved a full ten seconds off of her personal best time in the mile to the wonder of her teammates.

"She was just flying," Corlette said.

Steffenson said she used a rival, who won the event last year (lapping Steffenson in the process), to push herself.

"I went out with her to see what I could do," Steffenson said.

Junior Valerie Gilson had personal best times in the 100 and 200 breast-strokes, and finished in the top eight in both.

In addition, co-captain Deborah Kory won the 400 individual medley for the second consecutive year.

The team received a strong boost from its freshman class. Freshman Emily Buckley swam a personal best in 200 breaststroke and Kathy Liu placed in the 200 breaststroke.

"The freshmen are really important on the team," junior Laura Koerckel. "They are a source of new energy."

Why did so many swimmers swim personal best times?

"Our training is geared to the end of the season," Koerckel said. "Everyone gets excited for the races."

The sideline support didn't hurt, either.

"We do lots of cheering," Koerckel said. "We are known to have lots of spirit throughout the lvy League."

The divers also performed well, with both senior Marcia Vital and sophomore Hilary Grubb finaling in both the 1- and 3-meter platform competitions.

"They performed beyond all expectations," Corlette said. "Everything I saw looked clean and beautiful."

Despite the second-place finish, the team was pleased with its performance over the weekend and throughout the entire season.

For the seniors, it was the final competitive meet.

"I'm proud to have been a member of Harvard women's swimming this year," Corlette said.

"It has been a great experience. In terms of the personalities of the team, I wouldn't want to swim anywhere else," she added.