Certain sporting events traditionally occupy the minds of Harvard fans, with The Game topping the list. Amidst all the Harvard-Yale hype, it is easy to overlook one of this school's most dominant programs--men's swimming.

The No. 19 Crimson has captured five straight Eastern Championships and begins its quest for a sixth tomorrow in a dual meet against Army and Columbia. With solid personnel and remarkable team camaraderie, the Crimson seems in good position to pull it off.

Harvard returns 26 lettermen, including three All-Americans, to a squad that went undefeated (9-0) in meets last year. It won the UVA Invitational, Eastern Championships and placed 26th at the NCAA Championships. Consequently, Harvard starts the year with a strong preseason ranking.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't win our sixth straight Easterns," co-captain Mike Groves said. "We have a solid team."

At the head of a talented squad is senior Will Oren, who peaked at fifth overall at the Olympic trials in the 200-meter butterfly. Also returning is sophomore Dave Shevchik, an All-American who tied for the 2000 Moriarty Award, given to the highest scorer at the Eastern Championships.

In fact, the Crimson swimmers are basically strong in every event.

"We had 11 guys at Olympic trials this past year," Coach Tim Murphy said. "They're coming off a good summer of training and racing."

In the butterfly, Oren and juniors Kyle and Ryan Egan, who placed first ands second, respectively, in the 200-meter event of the 2000 Easterns, look to once again dominate the competition this year.

At backstroke, Shevchik and senior Mike Im, an Olympic qualifier, will assure the Crimson's competitiveness in this event, while sophomore Cory Walker, another Olympic qualifier, will contribute at the freestyle.

Sophomore Rick Dewey looks to perform at the individual medley, while senior Jamey Waters, a first team All-Ivy selection, will prove invaluable at sprints.

A glut of talent characterizes the distance freestylers. Sophomore Andrew McConnell, though coming off an injury, is a NCAA qualifier who won the 1000 freestyle at the 2000 Easterns. Look for junior Ben Hanley and sophomore John Persinger to reach the next level this year.

The major question mark for the Crimson this year will be dealing with the graduation of Tim Martin '00. Martin, one of the best swimmers in school history and also a former Crimson editor, took fifth place at Nationals in the 1500m last year and could always be counted upon to lead the squad. He won the Ulen Trophy last year as the leading four-year scorer at Easterns.

But the team is confident it won't miss a beat.

"We're don't really have any holes," captain Matt Fritsch said. "We lost some really fast seniors, of course, but we also gained some fast freshmen as well."

At the head of the freshman class is John Cole, who already seems to be a more than adequate replacement for Martin. A member of the National Junior team, Cole has swum the distance events in practice in times on par with Martin's.

In addition, the breaststroke contingent--a relatively weak link on the Crimson--has been strengthened with the addition of freshmen Rassan Grant and Jonathan Lin. Grant has already broken the team record in preseason swims, while Lin took Junior Nationals this past year.

Freshmen Brad Burns and James Lawler have also have been swimming well in the freestyle. Meanwhile, Kevin Budris and Kemi George have contributed as sprinters.

So the swimmers are obviously skilled. But, perhaps more importantly, the team has all the intangibles that it needs to excel this season, starting with its leadership at the top.

"The senior class has a huge impact both in the water and on the deck," Murphy said. "They set the pace for the team."

Moreover, five straight years at the top of its game has brought cohesiveness and a winning attitude to the Harvard locker room that is invaluable in any sport.

"We have a definite sense of team unity," Groves said. "We're a team on a mission."

Standing in the way of Harvard's mission will be a markedly more difficult schedule this year. If the Crimson can manage to match its two-year winning streak in regular season meets, it will have met a daunting challenge

"Princeton is the only other Ivy team that really competes with us," Fritsch said. "Since 1990 they haven't lost a home meet, and that's where we're going. We're also going to Texas in three weeks. There should be seven or eight Top-25 schools there as well."

Still, one can't argue with the Crimson's ambition.

"We want to win HYP [the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet], Easterns and make it into the NCAA Top-10," Groves said. "We also want to become the [Crimson's] sports team of the year for the second consecutive time."

The goal of a top-10 finish in the NCAAs is probably the most lofty for a school without athletic scholarships. Still, it is largely possible (the Crimson were ranked 11th in 1998) as long as Harvard performs well in its relays. Relay success greatly augments a teams NCAA ranking because four guys add points to a team's score rather than one.

In any case, Harvard needs to get through the season before thinking about NCAAs. The Crimson take on Columbia and Army in its first meet of the season at 7 PM at Blodgett Pool.

"All we have to do is be competitive," Murphy said. "And everything will take care of itself."