"Their program this year was designed for their swimmers to peak at HYP. Our program is designed for us to peak at the conference championship."

Even so, the Crimson proved an aggressive competitor. The men posted nearly sixty personal-best times and took first place in six events. All Crimson relay teams--200 medley, 400 medley, 200 free and 400 free--clocked NCAA-qualifying times.

Senior Michael Im walked away from the meet with two wins in the backstroke events. Im and sophomore Dan Shevchik swept first and second place in the 200 back.

Freshman distance star John Cole touched first in both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events. His time of 8:54.92 broke the school record (set by Bobby Hackett in 1979) by nearly five seconds.

"My main goal was to win the event and beat Princeton," Cole said. "My swim didn't feel terrific, so when I touched the wall, I didn't know what to expect."

Cole's performance in the 1000 places him first in the country in collegiate polls, ahead of Olympian Erik Vendt and just six seconds short of a national age group record. The win also broke the Princeton pool record for the event, previously held by Harvard sophomore Andrew McConnell with a time of 9:03.04. Cole swam each length in an average time of 13.4 seconds.

"When I saw 8:54, I was absolutely shocked," Cole said. "I was so surprised. I couldn't believe it."

Cole's 500 freestyle time, meanwhile, was good enough to out-touch Yale sophomore Carl Hessler, who trailed two seconds behind at 4:23.