Many of Harvard's athletes have shunned the spotlight of NCAA sanctioned sports and pursued their interests off the beaten path--in sports ranging from mountain biking to table tennis.

Although the NCAA has yet to recognize these sports, Crimson Sports--in its long-standing tradition of being one step ahead of the game--has not only recognized them, but is now bringing to you a second-semester round-up of club-sports action.

Harvard Mountain Biking Team

Although the reorganization of mountain bike racing under the U.S. Cycling Federation caused the cancellation of this year's Eastern tournament, the Harvard Mountain Biking Team competed in several races over the spring semester.

Last weekend, the squad travelled to Rhode Island and raced The Reaper's Revenge--a 20-mile Eduro course event sponsored by the Eastern Fat Tire Association (EFTA). Over 500 racers competed in every division from beginner to professional.

Placing for the Crimson in the Sport division were co-captain Forrest Briscoe--who finished 7th, and senior Walter Sipe--who finished 23rd.

"We got to train a lot this spring because it was very dry," Briscoe said. "I was really pleased with our performance."

Next year, the U.S. Cycling Federation plans to sponsor a series of mountain bike races, and it will maintain a point system in an attempt to better organize the sport--which is growing more popular with every year.

Harvard-Radcliffe Ultimate Frisbee

The spring season was a busy one for the Harvard-Radcliffe Ultimate Frisbee squad, which competed in several collegiate tournaments in the northeast region.

Most recently, in the Northeast Regional tournament held at Umass-Amherst, the Disciples finished an encouraging 8th out of the 16 teams that competed.

"We did pretty well," junior co-captain Alex Berzofsky said. "We exceeded our expectations and we did better than last year."

In the tournament, the Crimson defeated Umass-Amherst, 13-8, and Columbia, 13-6--but dropped 13-5 and 15-5 decisions to Yale and MIT, respectively.

Harvard qualified for the regionals by virtue of its third-place finish at the sectional tournament--which was held at Tufts. Last year the Crimson failed to even qualify for the regional tournament.

Earlier this spring, the Disciples travelled to Yale to compete in the Yale Cup. Harvard placed third in this event as well--behind both Yale and Vassar.