The highest level. Michael Jordan plays at it. So does Mario Lemieux. And does Carl Lewis.

And, if Coach Sue Caples has her way, so will the Harvard field hockey team.

Under the former All-American, Harvard has risen in national prominence the past five years. The Crimson has taken the Ivy title the past two years and garnered its first NCAA tournament bid in 1991.

But all is not rosy out on Cumnock Field. Harvard has seen the highest level, and it wasn't pretty. Not at all. (Think Tommy Lasorda in a thong bikini.)

Harvard visited Boston University last year in the opening round of the NCAA tournament and endured a 3-0 drubbing under the lights at Nickerson Field. BU was clearly faster, more skilled, and more experienced.

But, in Caples' assessment, the trip across the river was well worth the T fare.

"We'll definitely learn from the experience of the NCAAs. It was different level of intensity. This team's going to remember what it was like at that level. They'll have added intensity and focus from playing at that level," Caples said.

Now, even though a senior class including four first-team All-Ivy honorees has graduated, the young team is nothing if not hungry to take Harvard's program even further than it has gone in the past.

The Crimson certainly has enough talent to draw on. The team's strength is its athleticism, specifically its speed.

Up front, Harvard features a trio of two-sport athletes: Co-Captain Rachel Burke (the team's top returning scorer), junior Sarah Downing and sophomore Sarah Winters.

In the backfield, juniors Francie Walton (1990 Ivy Rookie of the Year) and Amy Belisle are expected to be solid.

Vogt Between the Pipes

In goal, Harvard must make up for the loss of All-Ivy graduate Lisa Yadao, who performed masterfully in the pipes last year. Junior Christine Vogt, who recorded an 11-save shutout in her only appearance last

FIELD HOCKEY

Coach: Sue Caples