Aquawomen Brown Bound

The Harvard women's swimming team races in its biggest dual meet of the year tonight when it takes on Brown in Providence, R.I., at 7 p.m.

The winner of tonight's showdown gains the inside track for the 1986-'87 Ivy League title. Either Harvard or Brown has won the Ivies every year since 1982.

Last year, an 87-63 victory at Blodgett Pool propelled the Crimson into first place, enabling the squad to finish its league slate with a perfect 7-0 mark and capture its first-ever Ivy Championship.

For the Bruins, the defending Eastern Champions, tonight is a chance to gain revenge for last year's meet, which cost them their fourth straight league title.

Crimson Head Coach Maura Costin Scalise said, "The key to our success in this meet is to concentrate on what we want to do. If we do that, no outside factors will come into the meet's outcome. We won't be intimidated."

With tonight's showdown coming only two weeks after the start of the swimming season, the contest may be a baptism-by-fire for the freshmen on both teams.

With only hours to go before the Battle of the Ivies, Coach Costin Scalise is ready to lead her troops into the conflict: "I just hope that everybody is healthy tonight. Whether we win or lose, I'm looking for good swims. This meet is important, but it doesn't end our season no matter what the outcome."