In the past two years, Harvard athletic teams have won a total of 23 Ivy League titles--including a league-record dozen in 1982-83.

That's a tough pace to maintain, but an annual crop of sharp freshmen makes the task of keeping up with the competition easier. And of course, the annual success makes keeping up with the high school seniors easier as well. This year is no exception.

"I think we got some good kids overall, both academically and athletically," says softball Coach John Wentzell, who serves as the Athletic Department's liaison with the Admission Office.

The majority of coaches, and the dean of admissions, Wentzell says, are "quite pleased with the turnout.

"We're really enthusiastic about this group," says men's hockey Head Coach Bill Cleary, who could be speaking for quite a few of his colleagues. The icemen must fill in for a total of 18 graduates since two years ago, when Harvard had the second-best college hockey team in the country.

"We'll play the ones that are able to play--freshmen have always played on "the squad," says Cleary, who won't give names because, he says, he won't hesitate to send players to the j.v to brush up their skills.

The football team can't even do that their freshmen have their own team--but Coach Jim Kubacki volunteers, "on paper we look grant--we always do."

Next door, on the other hand, men's basketball has more players than Head Coach Frank McLaughlin knows what to do with. Tryouts, the eighth-year coach predicts, will be "by far the most competitive" he's seen, what with 15 spots on the foster waiting to be filled by some combination of the 13 returning lettermen, last year's j.v., some possible walk-ons and four recruits.

The recruits are: Kyle Dodson, a 6-ft., 4-in., 205-lb. forward/guard from West Orange, N.J.; Bill Mohler, a 6-ft., 8-in., 215-lb. forward from Chevy Chase, Md.; Eric Wanta, a 6-ft., 8-in., 210-lb. forward from Greendale, Wisc.; and Scott Wolf, a 6-ft., 8-in., 205-lb. forward from Ellicott City, Md.

Women's Head Coach Kathy Delaney Smith isn't quite as overcome but still anticipates stiff competition for a spot on a squad that finished 3-22 last year.

The aspiring woman cagers to watch, says the coach, are: Barb Keffer, a 5-ft., 6-in., shooting guard from Springfield, Pa.: Hanya Bluestone, a 5-ft., 6-in. shooting guard from Brookline; Mary Balday, a 5-ft., 7-in. shooting guard from Long Island, N.Y. Both Chandler, a 6-ft. forward from Branford, Conn.: Nancy Cibotti, a 6-ft., 1-in. center from Walpole; Roberta Starr, a 5-ft., 9-in. point guard from Santa Maria, Calif.; and Sharon Hayes, a 5-ft., 11-in. shooting forward from Lexington.

Hayes is also a prospective softball player, but Wentzell says the shortstop will see how things go before committing herself to the spring sport. Also on the diamond, he's looking to "hard-hitting infielder" Kristin Habley, of Westport, Conn.

On the tennis court, women's Coach Don Usher has two sharp freshmen coming in to an already-strong squad that lost only one to graduation.

New York City's Cyndy Austrian and Courtney Crockett of La Jolla, Calif. are already practicing with the netwomen.

Men's and women's soccer are already playing, with under-19 girls' national team veteran Tracee Whitley and Boise, Idaho native Piotr Makula backing up in their respective goals. Men's Coach Jape Shattuck is also counting on "very, very versatile" Mark Pepper and Nick Hotchkin, who look strong at midfielder. Pepper, an American, hails from Pirmasens, West Germany; Hotchkin from Horwich, England.

And at Blodgett Peel, everybody's happy. Diving Coach John Walker has a strong contingent of woman divers returning, and junior Dan Watson is fresh from a third place finish at the U.S. Olympic trials to spice up a men's squad that also gains freshman Tomas Gilmore, of Costa Rica and Deerfield Academy.

On the swimming end of things, Coach Joe Bernal feels he's looking at potentially the best year since he arrived at Harvard six seasons ago.

The reasons: John Pearson, a top high school national distance freestyler from Huntsville, Ala.; Jeff Peltier, of Decatur, Ala., a junior national finalist in the 400 individual medley: Bill Bird, a butterflyer and distance freestyler from Syosset, N.Y.; David Berkoff, a national caliber backstroker from Huntington Valley. Pa.; and Junior Olympic champ John Ritch, of Mt. Kisco, N.Y., a middle-distance and distance freestyler.

First-year women's Coach Maura Costin will be working to develop the potential of her returning swimmers, and new faces will include: National Junior Olympic finalist Karen Dehmel, of Greenwich, Conn, who specializes in the butterfly and I.M.; fellow finalist Michele Engh, of Alameda, Calif, breaststroke and I.M., Donna Watts, a freestyle sprinter from Australia, and Molly Clark of Chicago, a breaststroker and freestyle sprinter.