Imagine you are the Harvard women's ice hockey team.

You have two heart-and-soul co-captains in seniors Johanna Neilson and Julie Sasner.

Women's Ice Hockey

1986-'87 Overall: 19-4

1986-'87 Ivy League: 10-0 (Ivy Champs)

Captains: Johanna Neilson, Julie Sasner

You have a stand-out goalie in junior Jennifer White.

And you have a defensive player as mobile and as spectacular as sophomore Char Joslin.

You are coming off a season of unprecedented success, which included your first-ever Ivy League championship and a berth in the ECAC tournament.

So what do you do for an encore?

First, you have to watch out for all your opposition.

Like every other sport, other teams will always relish the chance to take pot-shots at the champions.

"The league's going to be stronger," said Sasner. "They say it's always hard to repeat in the Ivies."

"It's going to be very hard," said Harvard Coach John Dooley. "Dartmouth is very strong. Princeton had the best recruiting year of any Ivy team."

Second, you mustn't be complacent with your success the previous year.