As expected, the Crimson was tired, and even found itself behind going into the first diving break, but with the help of several key individual performances Harvard stormed back to earn the win.

Once again, Harvard's diving squad was crucial in the victory. McLean and Shipley finished one-two on both boards, giving the team some points it desperately needed.

"Going into Columbia the divers knew the swimmers would be tired," McLean said. "Because they had a lot rougher competition against Brown. So, we knew we had to step it up and get our job done to help offset that."

The divers' heroics certainly helped, but some of the swimmers overcame fatigue to register victories of their own.

Murphy came through in a big way, winning both of the sprint freestyle events and helping the Crimson win the final relay.

"If there was a swimmer of the meet against Columbia, it would have to be Sarah because she came through with gutsy performances when we really needed them," sophomore Liz Baxter said.

The pain was there against Columbia, as it is after any big meet, but wasn't enough to stop Harvard in its watershed weekend.

"We knew Columbia would be tough, especially since we were tired" said Gustafsson, who won the 500-freestyle against the Lions. "But we fought hard even though it hurt because we had to."