Traditionally, in the world of sports, there are teams that are so inept that they end up being very good entertainment. When the undefeated Harvard swimming team travels to Providence and the oldest college pool in the country Saturday to face hapless Brown, the Bruins may have a great deal of trouble keeping a straight face.

Last year a Harvard team so thoroughly outclassed Brown that captain Fred Mitchell false started his way out of the 100-yd, free in order to provide the 14 fans scattered around the IAB with a few moments of fun in the course of one of the worst slaughters in swimming history. The score of the meet, '8.35 did little to indicate the dimensions of the rout.

Once again the Crimson must make the biennial trip to Providence, but there is little evidence to indicate that anything but another mismatch is in the works. Harvard, under the national swimming ambitions of second-year coach Don Gambril, has already downed its first three opponents in convincing fashion and is coming off a 69-44 dunking of one of the Eastern League powers, Dartmouth.

Brown is not only of Eastern League caliber, but might have trouble winning against some of New England's better prep school squads. It lacks the facilities to compete with the Eastern swimming powers, although a new pool is presently being built which could change Bruin swimming fortunes.

But by then Harvard-Brown swimming meets may be a thing of the past. Gambril has tried hard to drop such swimming nonentities as Brown and Springfield the Crimson's opponent next week, which, incidentally, has never beaten a Harvard swimming team in umpteen meetings from the schedule, and they may be replaced by the likes of Tennessee or Indiana.

In the meantime, though, the two meets provide a welcome breather for the Crimson during reading and exam periods. Since Harvard swimmers can train through the two contests, it does allow Gambril to better prepare his squad for the always grueling month of February, when, in the space of four weekends it must face defending league champion Princeton, 1971 champion Penn, and last year's Eastern champion Yale.