"Those were my best times unshaved," said Grant, whose goal time going into the meet had been 56.8. "I wasn't really going for the school record [55.87, set by Dave Schwartz in 1998] but it turns out I just missed it."

The team's performance peaked Sunday, however, as Im earned the Crimson's only win of the meet, clocking 1:44.43 in the 200 back. The time was just five-hundredths of a second short of an NCAA "A" qualifying time.

"Before NCAA's maybe six or seven people will make that [standard]," Grant explained.

Cole took second in the 1650 free with a time of 15:02, beating out Sydney bronze medallist Chris Thompson, who clocked in at 15:21, and just missing Tyler Painter of Arizona, who won the event in 14:52. Cole's time was an NCAA "A" standard, automatically qualifying him for the meet to be held in Indianapolis in March. His performance was also just four seconds shy of replacing the school record set last year by Tim Martin '00, a former Crimson editor.

The men continued to dominate as Oren placed third again, this time in the 200-yard butterfly touching at 1:46.58.

Harvard's depth in the event was apparent as Kyle Egan placed ninth, finishing 1:48.19, and co-captain Mike Groves took 15th, touching at 1:51.58. Senior Greg Walker then placed second in the men's platform diving with a final score of 402.70 points.

Unfortunately, Harvard's flight schedule made it impossible for the team to stay for the finals of the 400 free relay Sunday night, sealing the Crimson's fifth-place finish. Despite that fact, the team's attitude toward the meet's outcome remains enthusiastic.

"I think that [our performance] says a lot," Grant said of the meet. "We had a lot of coaches coming up to us afterward, saying 'good job' and congratulating us."