It was an "almost" afternoon in Hanover as the Harvard women's swim team staged a late-meet rally that fell just short, leaving the Crimson on the wrong end of a 70-61 score in Saturday's meet against Dartmouth.

With Dartmouth sprint star Helen Hemminger pacing the Green assault, Dartmouth jumped out to a 42-19 lead mid-way through the contest. Hemminger had three individual firsts and a team first with the Dartmouth medley relay squad. She also set new pool records each time she entered the water.

Prior to the one-meter diving, the meet's mid-way event, Harvard could not get a first place finish. "We just lost all the close races in the first half of the meet, "Crimson coach Stephanie Walsh said.

Hemminger out-touched freshman Liz Kelly in the 200-yd. freestyle, and Dartmouth's Maja Wessles edged Laurie Downey by 0.2 seconds in the 100-yd. backstroke.

But the diving events were the real trouble for Harvard yesterday, and they made the difference in the final outcome. The Crimson's top two divers, Peri Ozkum and Emily Rothrock, did not make the trip, succumbing to reading period pressures. As a result, Dartmouth took both the one-meter and three-meter events by 8-1 margins.

After the one-meter diving, Harvard bounced back, with Kelly and Jane Fayer taking a one-two win in the 100-yd. freestyle.

"Jane (who has been injured most of the season) should not have been swimming sprints, but she was really gutsy and came through with a big win," Walsh said.

The women ripped off three more consecutive wins, but when Hemminger outsprinted Costin and Downey in the 100-yd. fly and the delpleted diving team took only third place from three meters, the Harvard hopes sank as Dartmouth totaled 65 points, the magic number that guarantees victory.

The loss moved the women's record to 4-2, 1-1 in the Ivies. With the team moving into the new pool today, Harvard is looking forward to swimming the new semester in a new home, where the Ivy Championships will be held from February 10-12.