Ronnie was asleep in the Oval Office. Madonna was still at least like a virgin. Larry and Magic were dancing a duet in the NBA Finals. And the Harvard men's rugby squad had a national championship.

The year was 1984.

Now, Ronnie is asleep on his ranch. Madonna is anything but a virgin. Both Larry and Magic have stepped aside for His Airness and a man called The Shaq. And the Harvard men's rugby squad is on the verge of another national championship.

The year is 1992.

Harvard took a giant step towards a national championship by beating LSU and Navy at the Eastern Collegiate Rugby Championship in Columbia, S.C.

Harvard beat LSU on Saturday, 55-8, and Navy, 19-6, on Sunday to take the prestigious title.

By virtue of its successful weekend, Harvard advanced to the National Collegiate Rugby Final Four to be held in Houston next May.

The other three finalists will be determined in regional contests in the coming months.

"We are very pleased with our performances this weekend," junior Bob Jordan said.

Kind of an understatement, don't you think?

"Against LSU, for 60 of the 80 minutes, we probably played our best rugby of the year. The Navy game was plagued with penalties. The constant stoppage of play hurt the flow of our game, but we still played quite well," Jordan said.

The key to the victories was the play of the backs led by sophomore Kiki Ssennyamantono, who was named tournament defensive MVP.

Now that Harvard has an invitation to the Big Dance, it can thank the backs for showing the Crimson how to waltz.

"Our backs were the best at the tournament," senior Peter November said. "As long as the offense kept up the pressure, the backs would take care of the rest."

Of course, the offensive production wasn't too bad either.