After a season filled victories over such swimming powers as Florida and Penn State, as well as a virtual domination of the Ivy League, the only appropriate way to end the season for the Harvard men's swimming team was a championship at the Easterns.

For the third straight year, the crimson outswam the rest of the Ivy League, bringing a championship home to Cambridge, as it placed first in the Eastern Championships, held this past weekend at Army in West Point, New York.

Harvard scored 867.5 points, over 100 points more than its closet competition, Princeton which finished with 756. Yale finished a distant third, with 557.5 points.

"We were confident going into the meet," junior Brian Livingston said. "We knew it would be tough, but we knew we could beat them."

Some of the swimmers went into the meet still smarting from their loss to Princeton in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet on February 5.

"People were fired up because we lost against Princeton," junior Jan Esway said. "It made out victory even sweeter."

The team got off to a rocky start last Thursday, the first day of competition, finishing the day with a one point lead over Princeton.

"It was our weakest day," co-captain Richard Ou said.

Part of the problem was the controversial disqualification of Esway in the 200-yard individual medley qualifying race. His turn at the wall, during who which he had to change from backstroke to breaststroke, was judged illegal by the poolside official.

The disqualification of Esway, who would haveeasily qualified for the finals of the 200-yardmedley, cost the team 20 points, according to Ou.

Esway and the rest of the team wereincredulous.

"It was a very questionable call," Ou said.

"From what I saw on the videotape, [the turn]was perfectly legal," Esway said. "It was a callthat shouldn't have been made. I feel like I wasrobbed."

Esway earned a measure of revenge that eveningwhen he swam a pool record of 1:48.62 in the timetrial of the 200-yard individual medley thatpreceded the finals of the event.

The Esway incident also gave his teammates someextra motivation going into Friday's competition.

"The Esway disqualification was a wake-upcall," junior Dave Heilman said.