At backstroke, Shevchik and senior Mike Im, an Olympic qualifier, will assure the Crimson's competitiveness in this event, while sophomore Cory Walker, another Olympic qualifier, will contribute at the freestyle.

Sophomore Rick Dewey looks to perform at the individual medley, while senior Jamey Waters, a first team All-Ivy selection, will prove invaluable at sprints.

A glut of talent characterizes the distance freestylers. Sophomore Andrew McConnell, though coming off an injury, is a NCAA qualifier who won the 1000 freestyle at the 2000 Easterns. Look for junior Ben Hanley and sophomore John Persinger to reach the next level this year.

The major question mark for the Crimson this year will be dealing with the graduation of Tim Martin '00. Martin, one of the best swimmers in school history and also a former Crimson editor, took fifth place at Nationals in the 1500m last year and could always be counted upon to lead the squad. He won the Ulen Trophy last year as the leading four-year scorer at Easterns.

But the team is confident it won't miss a beat.

"We're don't really have any holes," captain Matt Fritsch said. "We lost some really fast seniors, of course, but we also gained some fast freshmen as well."

At the head of the freshman class is John Cole, who already seems to be a more than adequate replacement for Martin. A member of the National Junior team, Cole has swum the distance events in practice in times on par with Martin's.