Women Fly by UNH, 81-50

UNH used the Trac II before last night's meet at Durham but at the end of the swim meet the Harvard women had the edge, 81-50.

The Wildcats tried to gain a psychological advantage over the Crimson by shaving down and wearing skin suits for yesterday's meet. Harvard dulled the "double edge," however, with record-breaking performances in the opening two events of the program.

The 400-yd. medley relay team of Laurie Downey, Diana Borden, Maura Costin and Sherry Lubbers took the opening event in 4:22.0, breaking the team record by a tenth of a second.

And moments later, freshman sensation Liz Kelly did some shaving of her own, taking more than six seconds off her own team record in the 1000-yd freestyle. Her winning time was 10:50.6.

These performances "set the tone for the rest of the meet," Coach Stephanie Walsh said last night. The Crimson went on to win nine events, including the final 400-yd. freestyle relay, and the same names kept cropping up in the win column.

Kelly took top honors, adding individual firsts in the 500-yd. freestyle and the 200-yd. butterfly, her first effort in that event for Harvard. She also anchored the final relay to a 3:52.1 time, just short of a team record.

Borden, after loosening up in the medley relay, dominated the breaststroke with victories at the 100- and 200-yd. distances. Paula Bagger finished second in both races.

It was a tough night for Laurie Downey, who faced a stiff challange in her specialty--the breaststroke--from Wildcat Debbie Panzik. A judge's decision gave Downey the opening round in the 100-yd. backstroke but Panzik took the return matchup in the 200-yd. backstroke. But Downey also added firsts in the two relays.

Costin won the other Harvard first in the 200-yd. individual medley, giving her three firsts for the meet. Two events after the I.M. victory, she also picked up a second in the 100-yd. butterfly.

Walsh was ecstatic after the meet, calling it a "great" warm-up for the upcoming Ivy Championship. She feels that weight workouts are working and said the team is improving. "Everyone is really psyched for the Ivies and the new pool," she added.