Anyone who says academics and athletics can’t co-exist successfully aren’t familiar with swimming. The Harvard women’s swimming and diving team earned the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Dual Meet Championship. The men’s swimming team from Princeton University claimed their first Dual Meet title with 254.59 points, edging Ivy rival Cornell (253.08) while Harvard (247.86 points) topped Miami University (OH) (243.31) for its first National Dual Meet Title. The women’s top five was rounded out by Eastern Michigan (243.30), UC-Irvine (243.18), and the University of Denver (241.30). Missouri State (249.11), Southern Illinois (248.02), and Harvard (247.61) completed the top five.

Princeton (7-2) won the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championship for their third title in five years. The Tigers were led by Meir Hasbani. Hasbani was one of thirteen mid-major swimmers to be invited to the 2006 NCAA Championships (March 23-25) in Atlanta.

The Harvard women compiled a perfect 10-0 dual meet record. The record included a one point win against 12th-ranked Rutgers. Noelle Bassi, the 2004 US National Champion in the 200 butterfly led the Crimson. The Junior won a Silver medal at the 2003 Pan American games and will, along with diver Samantha Papadakis, represent Harvard at the 2006 NCAA Swimming Championships (March 16-18) in Athens, Georgia. The pair were two of just sixteen mid-major swimmers to be invited to the championships. The dual meet rankings use an objective point system to compare teams’ relative strength in a traditional sixteen-event dual meet lineup. They are not necessarily indicative of a team’s ultimate finish at the NCAA Championships. Forty-six teams were ranked in the poll. Institutions eligible for the Mid-Major designation do not come from one of the eight major NCAA Division I-A football conferences or award fewer than seven women’s or five men’s scholarships. Mid-Major teams are also eligible for the CSCAA Division I Coaches’ Poll.

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Men's Final Poll				Women's Final Poll
1	Princeton University	254.59		1	Harvard University	247.86
2	Cornell University	253.08		2	Miami University (OH)	243.31
3	Missouri State	249.11		3	Eastern Michigan University	243.30
4	Southern Illinois University	248.02		4	UC Irvine	243.18
5	Harvard University	247.61		5	Denver University	241.30
6	US Naval Academy	247.13		6	Missouri State	239.99
7	Eastern Michigan University	246.26		7	University of New Hampshire	238.63
8	Oakland University	246.00		8	Western Kentucky University	238.20
9	Miami University (OH)	245.16		9	Southern Illinois University	237.96
10	Western Kentucky University	243.72		10	Maryland-Baltimore County	237.33
11	Denver University	242.09		11	Oakland University	237.32
12	US Military Academy (Army)	241.97		12	Ohio University	237.02
13	UNC-Wilmington	239.04		13	UNC-Wilmington	236.12
14	UC Irvine	238.98		14	Richmond University	235.49
15	Maryland-Baltimore County	237.27		15	Bowling Green State University	235.45
16	University of Massachusetts	237.04		16	UW- Milwaukee	233.01
17	St. Bonaventure University	236.73		17	St. Louis University	232.87
18	Bucknell University	236.57		18	Bucknell University	232.65
19	Binghamton University	235.62		19	St. Bonaventure University	232.13
20	Rider University	235.22		20	University of Akron	231.65
21	Marist College	233.76		21	University of Toledo	230.58
22	UW- Milwaukee	233.55		22	William & Mary University	230.42
23	Wright State University	231.95		23	US Naval Academy	229.79
24	Drexel University	231.19		24	Illinois State	229.01
25	La Salle University	224.99		25	Marist College	228.01