Utilizing its depth, the Harvard's women's swimming and diving team beat every Ivy team except perrenial powerhouse Princeton.

The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team finally broke through a ceiling that had seemingly been constructed to pin it below second place in the Ivy League.

After the Crimson captured the 1996 Ivy League championship, the squad had been relegated to third or fourth place behind foes Princeton and Brown in the following seasons.

But a repeat performance wasn’t going to satisfy anyone this time around.

Harvard knew throughout the season that elevating itself above the tandem of traditional powerhouses would not be easy, but that it was certainly an attainable goal.

“We definitely have a real shot [at displacing either Princeton or Brown] this year,” sophomore Molly Brethauer said at the season’s start. “It’s not going to be easy, but we have a shot.”

The Crimson took aim early on, setting its sights on the Bears at the end of the first week of competition.

In a sign of things to come, Harvard rolled over Brown, winning 170-130 in a performance showcasing the Crimson’s depth in all strokes. Despite winning fewer than half of the events held and none of the relays contested, Harvard still accumulated enough points to win easily, amassing a lead based on runner-up and third-place finishes.

“Depth is our best asset,” co-captain Jane Humphries said. “It came down to the best team, not the team with the best individual swimmers.”

Freshman Jane Evans stepped into the spotlight, capturing first place in three events—an occurrence that would become standard fare for her as the season progressed.

Competing in breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley events, Evans shined in her first year and came to be heavily relied upon to provide points.

“It’s really good that I have a lot of races,” Evans said. “Depending on how my teammates do, I can fill in as needed.”

The drive to crack the top two hit a snag mid-season as an unexpected challenge emerged from the Ancient Eight cellar—Penn.

Traditionally a force easily reckoned with, the Quakers were gunning for Harvard all season long, setting their calendar around a match up with the Crimson.

“Penn rested for us,” junior Kate Nadeau said. “They tapered and shaved. [Their victory] is not an indication of how the Ivy League Championships will finish out.”

Although her prediction proved correct, the victory temporarily demoralized the Harvard swimmers, who touched the wall first in only two events against the sprightly Quakers.