What do Turtle caramel-candies have in common with the Harvard men's swimming team's opponent last night?

Well, they're Brown and they're slow, real slow.

The Bruins were so slow that the Crimson took nine of the 13 events en route to a 159.5-77.5 thumping of Brown in Providence. Five Harvard freshmen turned in first-place finishes.

Brown (0-2) extended its torrid losing streak to 11 straight dual-meet defeats going back to last season, while the Crimson upped its record to 3-0 in EISL competition. Reasonably enough, Harvard did not expect too much of a challenge from the Bruins, to whom it had not lost to in the last three years.

"We tried to use [this meet] as a springboard for Army," senior John Manson said. "They're the real focus for the fall."

Harvard Coach Joe Bernal tried to give Brown a chance by sending out a heavy contingent of less-experienced freshmen and sophomores and entering some swimmers in the events they normally do not swim, but the meet was far from a nailbiter. The Bruins still looked like they had eaten too much turkey on Thanksgiving.

Harvard freshman breast-stroker Rich Ou skipped the breast events and competed in the 50-meter freestyle instead and placed a close third. Classmate Sean Gouldson, normally a backstroker, took first-place in the 100-meter freestyle.

Considering the young season and young Crimson lineup and the shallow, slow Brown pool, the times were strong. The Crimson freshmen dominated the show with first-place finishes from Dave Bandy, Gouldson, Matthew Mckay, Ou and diver Craig Narveson. In the 200-meter butterfly, the Brown squad couldn't even crack the two-minute barrier, while Harvard's four entrants swept the first four places.

Because Brown does not have a diving team, Harvard's diving corps was forced to have an intrasquad match. Robert McDermott took first place in the 1-meter competition with 254.63 points and Naverson outdistanced his closest competitor in the 3-meter by more than 75 points, chalking up 304.58. Naverson has already qualified for the NCAA tournament in March.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson has only one meet left before Christmas break, a matchup against Army on Friday, December 7th. The Cadets' strengths lie in their freestyle events, but Harvard hopes to overtake them in the stroke and diving events. Crimson, 159.5-77.5 in Providence

400 medley relay

1. HARVARD, 3:36.15; 2. HARVARD, 3:37.60; 3. Brown, 3:41.73.

1000 freestyle

1. McBride (B), 9:44.03; 2. Knavert (H), 9:52.77; 3. Root (H), 9:59.26.

200 freestyle