Men's Swimming Dominates Rivals

The Harvard men's swimming team once again proved that it is the cream of the Ivy League crop. The Crimson spent yet another weekend dismantling its opponents and preparing itself for the upcoming Eastern and NCAA Championships.

The victims this time were Cornell and Dartmouth, both of which struggled to tread in the Blodgett Pool water. The (Big) Crimson improved its record to (12-1) in defeating the Big Green (182.5, 60.5) and the Big Red (189,48).

Harvard controlled this unusual three-team dual meet from the outset, finishing first and second in 10 of the 13 events, and sweeping five of them. The Harvard men swept the 400 medley relay, 200 free, 200 individual medley, 500 free, and 200 breaststroke.

Among the many Crimson swimmers to dominate their races were junior Brain Younger (first in the 100 free), senior Bryon Butts (first in the 50 free and second in the 100 free), sophomore Greg Wriede (500 backstroke) and senior Josh Adams (individual medley). Also, sophomore Alex Kurmakov performed well in the relays.

All of these performances bode well for the Crimson as it prepares for the Eastern Championships at Princeton in late February, and the NCAA Championships at Minnesota in late March.

With few Ivy League teams on its level, the Harvard swimmers have really had to use these two big meets to motivate themselves all season. And these goals have served as an incentive for the countless hours of morning and afternoon practices they have had.

"In terms of preparation, we're right on target for Easterns," junior Matt Cornue said. "We have three weeks until Easterns, and seven until NCAAs, so we'll be ready."

The three weeks until Easterns will provide Harvard with some time to finalize its relay teams, and prepare to qualify for NCAAs.

The Crimson is looking to win its fifth Eastern Championship in the past six years, and improve on its 16th place finish at last years NCAAs. Harvard has been looking to this year's Championships to put itself in the top ten and gain some national recognition. And with a number of returning lettermen and All-Americans, the team is in good position to do so.

The Crimson's lone loss came at the hands of Princeton two weeks ago. Princeton treated the meet as its national championship, while Harvard treated it as just another road bump on its way to a bigger goal, national recognition.

The Crimson travel to Pennsylvania this Saturday to take on the Quakers in its final regular season meet. Penn should pose little if any problem, but it will give Harvard one final warm-up before the season's climax.

Once again, Harvard will not shave in its meet against Penn. The razors will not be broken out until the Crimson shaves and tapers for the Eastern Championships. If the rest of the season is any indication, this effort will not go unrewarded.