After months of preparation, it's time for final exams even though it's only late February. This weekend the women's swimming and diving team (7-3, 5-2 Ivy) will earn its final grade heading into the Ivy Championships at Princeton.

Finishing the dual-meet season with the third-best record in the conference, the Crimson has set its sights on finishing at least that high at Ivies.

"We want everyone to score, and personal bests are always a goal," said junior Nancy Jo. "As a team we're expected to get third right now, but we're focusing on taking down Princeton."

With Brown firmly established as this weekend's favorite, the battle seems to be developing over the second-through fourth-place spots between Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

Harvard lost its Nov. 20 meet at Brown by a 185-113 final and split at H-Y-Ps three weeks ago, beating Yale 157-143 but dropping to Princeton, 189-111.

Harvard has several advantages working in its favor over these two foes going into the competition.

"The other teams have already shaved in December," said junior Ana Cenanovic. "So, we should be able to muster bigger time drops.

"At this point, our team is the underdog because no one has seen us at our peak this season. Hopefully our time drops will act like a blitzkrieg to wipe out the Tigers."

Rather than shaving for a meet earlier this year, the Crimson has maintained its commitment to the Ivy Championships by training through each dual meet and invitational.

"Our plan is to go into the meet and focus on our own performances," Cenanovic said. "Hopefully we can just let all of our hard work pay off."

Keeping their focus may be problematic for the Crimson, as the meet is being held at the notoriously inhospitable DeNunzio Pool at Princeton.

Traditionally, the Tiger fans hold nothing back in their attempts to intimidate the competitors, with parents even being known to wear "Harvard Sucks" shirts.

"I usually know what to expect going into each meet," said freshman Liz Baxter, "But Ivies is a whole new experience."

"From what I've heard, the pool environment can be pretty hostile. We're going to be walking into a sea of orange and black."

Harvard's plan is deliciously simple: it only wants to race.