Sometimes, Harvard sports teams look for that ultimate challenge which will not count in their conference standings. But such a challenge usually comes with a price--defeat.

Sometimes the challenge will come from outside national boundaries. The Harvard women's lacrosse team hosted a squad from South Australia earlier this week. Playing on a rainy Monday, the Crimson fell, 22-3.

But other times, the challenge will come from the good ol' U.S. of A.

Remember when freshman goaltender Mike Francis had his first collegiate game last November against Team USA? He underwent a "baptism by vulcanized rubber," as puck after puck went hurtling towards the Harvard goal.

Members of the Harvard women's water polo team may not soon forget the challenge they faced at last year's Eastern Tournament. They faced--and fell to--Sports Fest, an all-star team which representea the east in last year's National Sports Festival.

Thought Harvard has suffered devastating blowouts in past games which have not counted in the standings, there have been some Harvard teams which have risen to the challenge. And overcame.

Brian Petrovek '77 threw a legendary 32-save effort against Team USA in the Boston Garden on November 23, 1975.

"It was nice for us to do," Petrovek, now the general manager of the AHL's Utica Devils, recalled, "though I think we caught them [Team USA] early in the year."

But the real story behind the Crimson's 5-2 upset was the fact that Pertovek had a chance to go to Innsbruck but it was not in the cards. He missed the final cut.

Last weekend all attention was focused on two shells racing on the Charles. One boat contained the Radcliffe lightweight fours with coxswain. The other contained members of the U.S. national team, stroking for the Boston Rowing Club.

"We've raced against them before and hadn't even come close to beating them," said coxswain Katia Rorer. "We had the objective of having a good race."

By the time the race was over, the Radcliffe boat had overcome its challenge.

By nine seconds.

"Officially, it didn't mean a thing to anyone," said senior Sarah Allums. "But unofficially, it meant just everything to us."

Indeed, it was probably the biggest win ever for this Radcliffe fivesome, which consists of Rorer. Allums. Jennifer Honig, Hye-Jin Lim and stroke Jillian Buriak.

And like Brian Petrovek before them, these rowers will take memories of their triumph with them--about how they overcame that greatest of challenges.