Quaker Thrashing
On Sunday, the Crimson maintained its Ivy dominance by thrashing Penn 136-46 in Philadelphia.
Although the Crimson was expected to easily defeat the shorthanded Quakers, Harvard's ability to mentally focus after such an intense competition the previous day was especially impressive.
"It was tough to get up to swim against Penn the next day," Gately said.
"Princeton was very emotionally draining," Lawrence said. "We did a good job of staying positive."
More importantly, however, the weekend allowed the Crimson a chance to test the waters before facing its toughest and most important competition at the Eastern Championships, which will be held February 23-25 at Blodgett Pool.
Unlike last weekend's dual meets, the Crimson will be shaved and tapered at Easterns, allowing the team to improve its already impressive times.
With a rested, fired-up and focused team, the swimmers feel that they will have the opportunity to succeed at the Eastern Championships.
"Physically, we need to rest and keep our taper going," Gately said. "Mentally, we are ready. We have been waiting and training all year for the Easterns."
And if the Crimson is able to put everything together at Easterns, last weekend's "good" loss will be forgotten and replaced with a "good" win.