If the Harvard women's swimming team had done nothing after claiming its first Eastern championship last month, the season would still have been a memorable one.

But nine members of that squad took team success one step further this weekend in Austin, Tex., where Harvard placed 17th at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

In so doing, the Crimson vaulted past 10 teams who occupied spots ahead of it last year and moved into the national Top 20 for the first time in the program's history. Additionally, Harvard was the top-scoring non-scholarship school at the NCAA meet.

"What a great way to end," junior Linda Suhs said. "The whole season has been great, and I can't see how anyone on the team could come away disappointed."

The University of Texas, the meet's host, swiped the team high-point trophy, with Florida grabbing second and Stanford taking third overall. Boston University, Brown and Princeton were the only other Eastern teams represented in Austin with one swimmer apiece.

Every Crimson swimmer scored points in the meet and earned All-America honors for their efforts. Diver Jenny Greene received All-America standing by taking eighth place on the one-meter board, marking the highest individual finish ever for Harvard.

Sophomore Mia Costello qualified for the consolation final for both breaststroke races, grabbing 14th in the 200 breaststroke and 15th in the 100. Those finishes gave Costello honorable-mention All-America status for the second straight year.

"I just loved the pool and was happy it was such a fast meet," Costello said. "Although I expected to make the consolation heat, I was still happy with my swims. It just makes you want to make the final eight next year."

Seven other aquawomen also earned honorable mention through finishes on three relays. Sheila Findley, Costello, Mary Quinn and Linda Suhs placed 11th in the 200 medley relay with a school record time of 1:44.10. In the 400 medley relay, Findley, Costello, Nina Anderson and Suhs snagged 13th overall in another record time.

In the team's final swim Saturday night, the 400 freestyle relay, Suhs, Anne Hardy, Jill Hutchinson and Janice Sweetser shattered their old school record with a 3:24.61 time, good for a 14th-place showing.

In all, 10 Harvard records were bettered, three by Findley and two each for Suhs and Costello. Findley produced a clean sweep of the backstroke records, shattering the old marks in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke during the three-day meet.

Likewise, Suhs bested her school and lifetime marks in the 50 and 100 freestyles, posting a time of 23.42 seconds in the 50 and 51.10 seconds in the 100. Costello's times in her breaststroke races also bettered school records.

"It was nice to see Harvard really accepted as a team for the first time," Findley said. "Last year, people thought it was a joke that we were at the meet, but now the other coaches and swimmers know who we are."

"I thought that we had a shot at the top 20 if we swam well," Suhs said. "Seventeenth was probably the best we could have done this year."

Although the squad is content with its 17th-place showing this year, don't think that it is ready to rest on its laurels in the coming seasons. All nine NCAA team members will be back for the 1988-89 campaign. So will Eastern individual medley champ Jenny Meyer.