At Harvard, the practices fit in perfectly with the new football regime. It gave the team some valuable time to learn the system and develop in real-game situations. The team had 10 practice sessions over two weeks, each starting at 6:30 in the morning.

"They will help out a lot," outgoing captain Brian Ramer said. "It shows a new attitude in the league, and it will probably mean more competitive football."

10. THE END--MAY 7-8, 1994

Going into the outdoor Heptagonals in May, the Harvard women's and men's track teams had been headed in opposite directions.

The women had been increasingly dominating. After an initial rocky start during its indoor season, the team battled back to take first in the hallowed H-Y-P meet, and second at the winder Heptagonals. It had improved further at the start of the outdoor season, beating defending league champ Brown in a triangular. Going into the outdoor Heptagonals, it was set on taking first.

The men, on the other hand, were having a rough season. Plagued by injuries, the team had struggled through the indoor season, finishing third at the H-Y-P meet and a disappointing sixth at Heptagonals. It had further struggled in the outdoor season, finishing a distant third to Brown and Dartmouth in a triangular. Going in to the spring Heptagonals, it had no idea where it would finish.

But something very strange happened at the meet. The women, plagued by a number of odd injuries, had their worst finish of the year, coming in seventh of nine teams. The men, on the other hand, shocked even themselves in taking fourth, their best overall performance.

The meet--the biggest of the season for both games--was a testament to the odd twists and turns in sports during the 1993-94 year. Both were young teams, both were going through "cleansing" phases. But they had radically different experiences, radically different fates.

"It was odd the way both teams seemed to do different things at different points in the year," men's captain Pete McConnon says. "But, speaking from a senior's perspective, I think that there is at least one way.