The Harvard men's and women's team set out to defend their home field at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center with commanding performances in Saturday's tri-meet against the Princeton Tigers and the Yale Bulldogs.

The men's team faced the daunting task of trying to defeat the Tigers (2-3, 2-0 Ivy), who despite no wins entering the meet, were ranked eighth in the nation in indoor track. Unfortunately, Princeton impressively took command of the races and ran away with the meet, defeating Harvard (4-2, 2-2 Ivy) 79-49. Nevertheless, the Crimson responded with a narrow defeat of the Bulldogs 49-45.

The women's team entered the meet hoping to keep its season record unblemished against Princeton and Yale. The Crimson (6-0, 4-0 Ivy) swept through its Ivy rivals to remain undefeated. It was led by three-event winning junior Brenda Taylor, and defeated the Elis 69-60 and the Tigers 69-30.

Harvard Men

The Harvard men's team posted a triad of first place finishes. Coming in first in the 60-meter hurdles was sophomore Richard Bravin with a time of 8.17 seconds. In the high jump, freshman Taylor Buckley leaped over the competition on his way to a top finish with a jump of 1.91 meters.

The men's two-mile relay would provide drama for the meet. By this point, Princeton had already clinched the H-Y-P title, but second place would be determined by the relay.

"We were all tired after running our races," Patillo said. "It's not the most enjoyable race, except when you have that extra competition on the line. Before we ran, the starter told us that this race would be the difference-maker."

As in the tri-meet against Brown and Cornell, the first three legs of the relays, run by sophomore John Cinelli and freshmen John Traugott and Christopher Antunes, kept the race close for captain Dominic Patillo. On his third lap, Patillo passed the Princeton runner and built a lead that he would never give back. The win ensured that a Crimson victory over the Elis.