Harvard will be led by a crop of up-and-coming swimmers and by divers Anne Osmun and Coral Day-Davis, both Junior National finalists.

Freshman Whitney Henderson will make a splash in the 200-yard butterfly, the individual medleys, and the freestyle events. A versatile competitor, Henderson will fill in wherever Coach Stephanie Morawski ’92 finds a hole in the line-up. Henderson already leads the league with a 2:03.57 in the 200-yard butterfly, a time from Harvard’s intrasquad competition.

The Crimson will try to fill its biggest gap in last year’s line-up with breaststrokers Diane Dewey and Jelena Kristic. Both are experienced in the 100 and 200-yard events, and Kristic is a national qualifier.

Distance swimmers Shannon McKinley and Steph Greco will battle it out in the 500, 1000, and 1650-yard freestyle events. Both are Junior National and U.S. Open qualifiers, and hail from New York-based distance-oriented programs.

Distance Coach Katherine Veazey will have to make many tactical decisions throughout the season as to how to best place McKinley and Greco in the lineup in order to maximize the Crimson’s point totals.

“Everyone should expect great things from the distance lane this year,” McKinley said. “There are now eight of us working together in the distance group and we are working hard to achieve our goals. It is not easy to slack off when there are seven other girls pushing you to go faster.”

Harvard’s lone Olympic Trials qualifier is freshman Emily Stapleton. A seasoned competitor, Stapleton will race the backstrokes and 200-yard individual medley. The Crimson will look to Stapleton when she squares off against Princeton’s Kate Conroy, the Tiger’s lone NCAA qualifier, later in the season.

Harvard hopes to double dip with freshmen Molly Ward and Molly Brethauer. Both are Junior National qualifiers. Ward will anchor many of the Crimson’s medley and freestyle relays and Brethauer will add her punch in the backstroke and butterfly events.

Perhaps the best additions to the Crimson come on the boards.

Freshman Anne Osmun is a six-time Junior National finalist. She is known for her precision and lines in the air. Teammate Coral Day-Davis is a Junior National finalist on platform, and will help replace the gap left by two departed seniors, co-captain Ali Shipley and NCAA qualifier Camila McLean.

Along with the onslaught of new talent, the Crimson’s key returners boast experience and proven success.

Janna McDougall, Ivy finalist and seasoned sprinter, will lead the Crimson into this season. After a rough transition into college swimming, McDougall bounced back last year with college and lifetime bests for Harvard. McDougall will contend for the Ivy championship in the 50-yard freestyle, an event she currently leads the league in with a time of 23.81. She will also shoot for the 100-yard freestyle and backstroke titles.

Humphries will make a charge at team records in the 200-yard freestyle and the individual medleys. She will also be a key participant on Harvard’s freestyle relays.

Junior Jessi Walter will boost the depth of the Crimson backstroke corps. Walter catapulted herself to success last year by demolishing her personal best times, hurriedly climbing Harvard’s all-time lists and nearly breaking the team records.

The Crimson will also rely junior sprinter Anna Fraser. Fraser’s expertise in the sprint butterfly, freestyle and backstroke events is of immeasurable importance to Harvard’s squad, as she proved in a hurried and triumphant return to the pool in the middle of last year after suffering a shoulder surgery.