"We really would have liked to have gotten eight or ten guys qualified for the meet," Ou says. "There were a number of guys on the bubble, including myself. I think we could have done a lot better if we had gotten some more of them in there, we could have shown that the Florida meet wasn't farce."

Of course, while that very question--whether or not the Florida meet was a farce--will surely be in the minds of the departing seniors for a while, such thinking is largely academic.

For the simple fact is that the upset happened, and, because of it, Harvard's swimming program will never be quite the same.

"I'd like to think that we both preserved the excellent swimming tradition here, and we added to it," Ou says. "I'd like to think that we helped make Harvard's national program, and that we raised the schools standards a bit."

If the 1993-94 season could conceivably be see as disappointing, then such hopes are assured.

MEN'S SWIMMING

Record: 10-2

Ivy League: 6-1

Key Players: Tim McCarver, Jan Esway, Craig Narveston.

Seniors: Rich Beukema, John Blaney, Brent Lorenzon, Robert McDermott, Matt McKay, Craig Narveson, David Osterhus, Richard Ou