Bring the Dust Busters. Have a can of WD-40 at the ready.

The Harvard women's lacrosse team has not played a game in 17 days. The dusty, rusty Crimson will take the field tomorrow in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in West Chester, Penn.

The last time Harvard played was May 2, when the Crimson dumped Boston College, 8-4, to up its record to 13-0. Much has happened since.

The last time Harvard played, Ronald Reagan was president.

"There's no question the layoff has been tough," Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder said. "We have not looked as sharp."

Harvard's semifinal opponent, Princeton, played last Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As the tournament's second seed, the Crimson got a bye into the semifinals. The Tigers nipped the University of Virginia, 6-5, and, according to some Crimson players who saw the contest, looked sharp. Sharper than when Harvard beat them, 6-2, March 25.

"I think it's going to be a much tighter game," junior Char Joslin said. "They looked a lot tougher and a lot faster."

The last time Harvard played, Lucille Ball was yelling at Desi Arnez, and Abbie Hoffman was passing out flowers.

"In a tournament game, you're not going to let [a layoff] bother you," Princeton Coach Chris Sailor said.

Easy enough for you to say, Coach. Your players don't have cobwebs instead of pouches on the ends of their sticks.

Exhibitions

Kleinfelder has tried to keep her players in game shape by scheduling exhibition games against lacrosse alumni and the men's JV team. But she admitted nothing is as good preparation for a real game as a real game.

The last time Harvard played, George Bush was starting at first base for Yale.

"I've been trying to tell them to run," Kleinfelder said. "I'm more concerned about the cardiovascular, making sure they're in shape. The stick skills will come back."

Harvard will be making its secondstraight appearance in the NCAA semis. Last year the Crimson fell to eventual champion Temple, 13-8.