HIGHLIGHTS

For the 200 male swimmers entered in the Eastern Conference Championships this weekend, the meet represents the fruition of five months of training, as well as a chance to emerge victorious in the pool over nine other teams in the conference.

After the first day of competition, the Harvard men's swimming and diving team is in position to send the Tigers and the Bulldogs home, even though the Crimson remains in third place.

Although Coach Tim Murphy expected Princeton and Yale to pose a legitimate threat to the undefeated Harvard squad, his swimmers showed him his calculations were wrong.

In a repeat performance of the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet in early February, the Harvard distance swimmers grabbed the top five finishes in the 500 freestyle with strong kicks.

NCCAA qualifier Tim Martin, a junior, and sophomore will Oren led the Harvard squad to an impressive 211-125 lead over Princeton, which had only one swimmer in the final.

"[The 500] was the biggest sweep we have ever had. It set us apart from the field right away," Martin said.

Co-captain Greg Wriede rode the momentum built up by the earlier 500 swept to win the 200 individual medley, finishing with a time of 1:48:63.

In a close race with two Yale competitors, Wriede touched first.

"[The Crimson] are on track to the best Easterns ever [with] incredible team spirit and enthusiasm shown by every team member," Wriede said.

The Crimson will now focus on increasing its lead it established early in the meet.

Although the Harvard team failed to win the 50 freestyle, the Crimson showed impressive depth in the event, placing three in the top eight.

Also contributing to Harvard's domination of Princeton and Yale was sophomore Greg Walker's sixth-place finish in the one-meter spring-board.

After a come-from-behind victory in the 400 medley relay executed by sophomore Jamey waters, Harvard led Princeton by 127 points, and was in third place trailing Brown by 166.

Brian Cadman and Michael Groves both articulated the importance of qualifying as many swimmers as possible for the evening session.

"Making finals was the major goal today, and I think we accomplished that," Groves said.

The meet continues this weekend at Blodgett pool across the Charles in Boston. ADRIENNE S. LEIGHT