"Athletics are an important part of a youngperson's life," says Associate Professor ofMechanical Engineering Howard A. Stone. "But if ayoung person wants to grow as a whole person theyneed to study."

Varsity lacrosse and field hockey player SarahW. Downing '94, of Topsfield, Mass., says that thelong seasons sometimes cause her to feel "a littleout of my classes." She says that during lastyear's lacrosse season, when the team was rankednumber one in the nation and advanced to the NCAAfinals, she missed five or six Fridays' worth ofclasses. And catching up on work can be tough.

"It's a factor of just fatigue," says Downing."You come back from practice, and all you want todo is climb in bed. It's tough to go to work atyour desk."

At the same time, Downing and many otherathletes say the time pressure caused by theirathletic commitment makes them better, moreproductive students.

"[Athletics] really helps me to organize mytime, forces you to get work done," says Downing."I do better in classes in season."

Marshall S. Burroughs '94, a member of thevarsity tennis team, missed more than two weeks ofclasses last year. That's because the team wasbusy racking up frequent flyer miles.

By year's end, it will have traveled toKentucky, Texas, West Virginia, San Diego, theUniversity of California at Irvine and, if itqualifies for the NCAA tournament, Georgia inMay--during exam period.

"It's obviously hard to study on trips whenyou're in a hotel," says Burroughs. "Last year, wehad to take exams at the NCAA tournament."

In addition to the academic opportunitiesHarvard offers, some students said they chose thecollege for the unique athletic experience aswell. Many of these athletes say they feared theywould be lost in the more competitive athleticprograms of bigger schools while Harvard allowsthem to be a big fish in a relatively small pond.

"If I went to play at other schools, it'shighly unlikely that I would be in a startingposition," says Honolulu native Clifford H. Chen'95, a goalie for the men's water polo team whowas recruited by the University of California atLos Angeles and at Berkeley. "[There is] too muchcompetition there."

The unique pressures of playing anintercollegiate sport at Harvard have led manyathletes to stick together. The majority ofstudents interviewed for this article said theyroom with at least one other athlete.

Some first-year athletes say the friendshipsthey make through athletics make the transition tocollege life easier.

"I wouldn't have met as many upperclassmen ifit weren't for volleyball," says Jennifer Jose'96, a women's volleyball player from Napa, Calif."[There is] lots of stress at the beginning of theyear, and it gives you something that's definite."

"As a freshman coming in it was good to havethe team," says Downing. "You immediately knewpeople and were introduced to the people they werefriends with."

"Most of the people that I know and spend anytime with are my teammates," she says.