The Harvard men's and women's swimming and diving teams will be making waves this season in their quest to become league champions.

The combination of strong freshman swimmers with talented, seasoned veterans has given both teams high hopes for success. Freshman swimmers have already brought back souvenirs for the Crimson's trophy case, and experienced upperclassmen have continued to dominate their events.

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Men's Swimming

With four Eastern titles in the past four years, the Harvard men's swimming team looks to remain at the top of region this season and make a statement in the NCAA tournament at the end of the season.

A strong freshman class joins a group of veteran competitors to help Harvard sustain the dominating role it has had in the Ivy League and beyond in past years.

Co-captains Ben Rosen and Brian Cadman have assumed the task of leading the Crimson this season, which finished eleventh in the NCAA tournament two years ago.

The plethora of talented swimmers on Harvard's roster makes it difficult to single out individual stars. The squad includes swimmers who have made Olympic trial cuts, broken team records and won individual Eastern championships.

"Our success this year will come from the entire team and from what

everyone contributes," junior freestyler Dan Barnes said.

Senior Tim Martin, also a Crimson editor, will provide important veteran experience this season. He placed fifth in the 1650-meter freestyle at last

year's NCAAs and holds the Harvard record for the event with 14:58.38. Martin also won the 1000-meter freestyle, as well as the 1650-meter, at Easterns last year.

Sophomore Matthew Wrenshall is also expected to have another strong year. The middle-distance swimmer won the 200 meter freestyle event at

Easterns last year. He also swims the 500-meter freestyle and the 100 and

200-meter breaststroke.

"I put a lot of time into training this summer, and I think that it will

really pay off," Wrenshall said.

One of the fastest sprinters on the team, junior Jamie Waters will be a key figure on both the freestyle and individual medley relays. Rosen is also expected to excel in this event. Since the medleys count for double the points that individual events do, they will be important to Harvard as it looks to qualify for NCAAs.

"I'm in better shape than ever before and feel confident about my ability to improve," Waters said.

Along with its seasoned veterans, Harvard introduces a strong freshman

Class this year.

Freshman Dan Shevchik should make an impact on the team early in the season. Shevchik is one of the fastest swimmers in the nation and placed fifth in the backstroke at the Pan American games this summer. Although he specializes in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, he is versatile and can swim the 200 and 400-meter individual medley as well.

While Shevchik's primary goal is to help Harvard win Easterns again,

he also would like to use any possible NCAA competition as a springboard

for next summer's Olympic trials.

"As a freshman, I am still trying to figure things out," Shevchik said. "But I also hope to bring some of my experiences to help raise Harvard to

the next level of swimming."

He is especially looking forward to starting his collegiate career completely healthy. For the majority of his senior year of high school, Shevchik suffered from Lyme disease.

"This is the first time in over a year that I have been healthy and my training has benefited significantly from it," Shevchik said.

Along with Shevchik, fellow freshman sprinters Dan Cieslikewicz and Ryan Parmenter will also contribute to the Crimson's potential success.

Sophomore Kyle Egan, the fastest butterflyer on the team, could be among the top eight in the country, and senior Marek Biegluk, the fastest Harvard breaststoker, should be a force in the medley relays.

With the pool of new talent and the returning veteran forces on the team,

Waters is confident about Harvard's ability to succeed this season.

"I think we have potential to be one of the best swim teams in Harvard's

history," Waters said. "We've got a really good freshman class and some

upperclassmen poised for breakthrough seasons."

Many swimmers feel the team is more focused this year than it was last

year.

"I think the team has the potential for much greater focus than last year

in the pool," Wrenshall said. "We have some freshmen and upperclassmen who seem to really be stepping up their training."

The divers will aim to equal the swimmers' success this season. Although the team is anchored by two returning sophomores and two new freshmen, their talent outweighs their relative inexperience.

Sophomores Amias Moore and Erik Frost, as the oldest male divers, will lead

the team this season. Despite losing junior Greg Walker for the year, who is studying abroad in Germany, freshmen Erik Patton and Adam Grant should contribute to Harvard's diving performance.

Women's Swimming

Athletic teams inevitably evolve each new season with the arrival of new

faces and departure of old veterans. For the women's swimming and diving

team, this year's evolution has brought them to the top of the food chain.

After graduating only three seniors last year, the Crimson welcome an

astonishing batch of 13 freshmen. The increase in bodies has brought even further depth to an already deep Harvard squad.

"By sheer numbers we're going to be a lot stronger," co-captain Sue

Machorek said. "The size of the team has doubled since my freshman year."

The jump that Machorek refers to, from a team of 20 during the 1996-1997

season to the current roster of 43, comes with the benefits of depth but a

dangerous threat of team disunity.

"Going into this year we really feared not being able to come together as a team," co-captain Corie Calfee said. "Fortunately we've been able to overcome the large numbers and have bonded really well. Having the support

of a tight group of 40 teammates is always going to be a huge advantage."

The effects of that support system has already surfaced in the team's few

meets earlier this season, especially in Harvard's watershed victory over Brown, the defending Ivy champ.

The Crimson had not defeated the Bears in four years.

"The freshman class adds so much to this team," senior Nancy Jo said. "Their enthusiasm and determination has brought this team to new heights."

The rookies have already established themselves as an integral part of the team, both with their presence on deck and in the pool.

"This is the fastest freshman class in recent memory," senior Adrienne

Leight said. "They are not afraid to step up and race to win."

And win they have. Freshman Lovisa Gustafsson has already registered five individual wins, including two key victories over Brown, and classmate Jane Humphries added three triumphs of her own in the Brown and Columbia dual meets.

Perhaps equally important to the points they have been scoring, the new members have revitalized the Crimson with their fresh attitude.

"After seeing everyone swim this weekend [against Dartmouth and Cornell], we feel a lot more confident that we can take Brown down," Gustaffson said. "There is no doubt in our minds that we can win."

The freshmen aren't the only ones making waves down at Blodgett, though.

Veterans like senior Alexis Todor and sophomores Sarah Murphy and Janna McDougall have both fed off of the excitement on the team for impressive wins of their own.

In fact, Todor has dominated the breaststroke events so far this season

and Murphy and McDougall have double teamed the competition with powerful sprint freestyle, butterfly and backstroke performances.

And, as always, the divers have chimed in with their usual excellence.

Juniors Ali Shipley and Camila McLean have combined to win every diving event so far this season.

With this new attitude, strong showings from a variety of Crimson swimmers and divers, and some huge wins over perennial Ivy powerhouses, like Brown, Harvard has set its sights high for the season.

"Our main goals are to go undefeated and to win Ivies," Machorek said."But we also want to get more people to the NCAA Championships so we can establish a national presence. The next big challenge is going to be our dual meet against Princeton but that won't happen until February."

The break before Princeton, its next Ivy meet, will not be a vacation for Harvard, however. Next week it will travel to the University of Virginia for an invitational against several top-25 teams and will then head off to glorious Southern California for a grueling training trip over winter recess.

But for now, the Crimson can bask in its recent success and work toward

their long term goals with the confidence that comes with the slaying of an Ivy Goliath.