Egan also emphasized the change in the way other schools perceived the Crimson: "Whereas before, a Harvard swimmer in the final heat would be considered just a peculiar, unusual case, that view has now been eliminated. Now that we are placing more and more people in different events, it has made us worthy of national attention."

Stanford won the meet and the NCAA Men's Division 1 Championship with a score of 404 points. UC-Berkeley finished second with 335, while a 325-point total earned Texas the third-place spot.

In fact, the enthusiasm of the small Harvard squad earned it support by many fans in Indianapolis--especially a large number of Stanford rooters, who encouraged the Crimson in many races.

And Bernal thinks that the Ivy Leaguers deserve the accolades. "This weekend we proved that our league is as good as any," Bernal said. "Harvard was the top team nationally that doesn't give scholarships, and to finish as high as we did is a good showing of this team's talent and motivation."

So as the 1986 season moves to a close, it leaves the Harvard men's team with a little bit of joy and a little bit of dissapointment.

And a whole lot of optimism.