Two down, seven to go.

It may seem like the Harvard men’s swimming and diving team has its work cut out for it this season, but considering the team has six consecutive Eastern titles, the rest of the league should be no contest. The team’s biggest challenges will likely be outside the region. The Crimson traveled to Texas last night to compete in the Texas Invitational, where they finished fifth last year.

The Crimson, lead by Harvard Coach Tim Murphy and co-captains John Persinger and Cory Walker, has already beaten both Columbia (202-98) and Army (222-76).

While in New York City for the meet, the team had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero as well as one of the firehouses that responded to the events of Sept. 11. The team also presented the firehouse with various items of Harvard sports apparel to be given to children affected by the tragedy.

“Just talking with [the firefighters] really made it hit home,” Persinger said. “These were the guys who lost 14 of their company members, and these are the guys who have been dealing with this for the last few months.”

After the meet at Columbia, the Crimson returned home to continue training. The swimming and diving team graduated a talented class last spring, including top backstroker Mike Im ’01 and individual medley swimmer Will Oren ’01.

“Last year, over a third of the Eastern team was made up of seniors,” Walker said. “So this year it definitely feels like a younger team overall, and I feel like there are a lot of guys who are going to have the opportunity to prove things to the team and to themselves, the opportunity to make an impact to the program.”

Many of the remaining swimmers hope to break their own school records, including senior Kyle Egan, who holds a 48.23 in the 100 fly, sophomore Rassan Grant in the 100 and 200 breast and junior Dan Shevchik, who turned in a 3:34.69 in the 400-yard IM last year at NCAAs.

As for the freestyle events, sophomore John Cole will look to continue to shine after an impressive freshman campaign. The distance freestyler placed third in the 1500m race at the World University Games in Bejing this summer.

Junior Leif Drake is another standout from last year. Even with the addition of freshmen Andrew Krna and Nicholas Langan, Drake still retains the fastest 50 free time on the squad. Divers Enrique Roy, a junior, and senior Erik Frost should handle the boards for the Crimson this season.

Because of last year’s large graduating class, there are many open spots on the Eastern team this year and many freshmen vying for the position.

“It’s always tough coming your first year to college and making that adjustment, but I think the freshmen are doing well,” Persinger said.

Among those to watch are newcomer David Ni, whose top times make him the Crimson’s best in the 200 freestyle event. Freshmen Ryan Smith and Alexander Siroky add further depth to the team’s butterfly group.

“We’d like to go undefeated throughout our dual meet season,” Persinger said. “This will be the first time for many of us to have Easterns in our own pool, and I definitely think having everyone swim fast this year is important, and I think if we keep the training up, the guys will be swimming fast when the time comes.”

The team, currently ranked 24th in a Nov. 29 College Swimming Coaches Association poll, looks to better its 22nd-place finish at NCAAs last March.