The Harvard's men's swimming team got off to a fast start this season, posting a 4-0 record by winter break. The only question that remained for Harvard Coach Joe Bernal was if his squad had the depth to go after another Eastern Championship.

Whatever doubts he had sank to the bottom of the pool almost as fast as Dartmouth did at Blodgett Pool Saturday, when the Crimson trounced the Big Green, 163-76. Harvard dominated the meet with 10 first-place finishes while Dartmouth (2-2 EISL), took only the diving events and the 200-yard breaststroke, the second-to-last event of the day.

"We used [the meet] to see where we are at this point in the season and to see our potential to score points," Bernal said. "We tried to move some people around who might be important additions to the lineup at Easterns."

Harvard junior Tom Peterson was moved from the 500-yard freestyle to the 1000-yard freestyle and finished in 9:23.52, the EISL's second-fastest time in that event this year. Fellow distance swimmer Steve Root edged a strong effort by Ivan Montoya in the 200-yard butterfly by less than half a second for a 1-2 Harvard finish.

Teammate Sean Gouldson, who normally competes in the backstroke, flipped over onto his stomach and placed first in the 200-yard freestyle. David Knauert and John Blaney also swam off-events for the Crimson and took third place in the 200 back and 200 IM, respectively.

The times were nothing to write home about, however, but the Crimson had just come back last Thursday from its post-Christmas workout in Ft. Myers, Fla. The swimmers covered 97,000 yards in eight days but didn't complain about the sunny, 85-degree weather.

The Iron-House

The Dartmouth meet is not only the traditional opening meet of the new year for the Crimson, but also the Ironman Meet. Each year, one lucky freshman is selected by the upperclassmen to swim every event of the meet by himself, including the relays. Former Ironmen include Rob Plunkett, Peterson and Root.

Harvard Co-Captain Greg Tull said that this year's freshman class provided several good candidates. Richard Ou and "Woody" (a.k.a. Brent Lorenzen) were highly touted and Dave Bandy even donned the iron trunks in Florida over break in a scrimmage meet. But when all the votes were counted, the dubious honor belonged to sprinter David Osterhus.

The House started off slow and looked a little green after the opening 400-yard medley relay. The crowd buzzed in the next event, the 1000-yard freestyle, when they saw the House's Lane 8 empty. But never fear. The Ironman didn't sink. He just needed time to compose himself and he was back on the block for the third event, the 200-yard freestyle. The House later made up the 40 laps of the 1000-free during the 3-M diving competition, with former Ironman Plunkett walking the deck alongside him the whole way.

Osterhus still had some kick left in him by the end of the meet. He edged a Dartmouth swimmer to claim seventh place in the third-to-last event, the 500-freestyle, and for the last leg of the concluding 400-yard freestyle relay he hopped out of the pool and dove off the blocks to kick off his own anchor leg. After the race he was lifted from the pool and whisked off to the locker room on a stretcher held by his teammates.

"It was hell," smiled the 1991 Ironman. "I loved it."

NOTEBOOK: Harvard travels to Princeton February 2 for what should be a showdown for the Ivy League title and an indicator of who will take Easterns. Much of the meet hinges on Princeton's freshman class, which boasts several talented swimmers. "I hear they're a great team. They've got an incredible freshman class and some of them are world-class," Bernal said. "So what else is new? That's what we expected and we wouldn't want it any other way." Crimson, 163-76 at Blodgett Pool

400 medley relay

1. HARVARD (Chris Kovacs, Albert Wolf, Simon Wainwright, Edward Wagner), 3:32.34; 2. HARVARD (Matthew McKay, Johnathan Manson, Brent Lorenzen, Brad Bobbitt). 3:33.74; 3. Dartmouth (Peter Moore, Litter, Charles Kenyon, Matthew Carlson), 3:33.89.