The Rutgers women defeated Harvard (5-1) on Friday by a score of 169 to 129 at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center, putting an end to their impressive 25 dual meet win streak.  On the Men’s side,Senior Brian Fiske, junior Geoff Rathgeber and sophomore Bill Jones won two individual events each at Harvard improved to 4-1 on the 2006-07 season with a 171-125 win against Rutgers Friday morning at the Werblin Recreation Center.

The Scarlet Knight women improved their overall record to 6-0 (3-0 BIG EAST) and are currently ranked #22 in the country while Harvard is ranked second among Mid-Majors. The Scarlet Knights set the tone from the start of the meet with the medley relays. The team of Cat Whetstone, Katie Kuczmarski, Linda Tate and Madison Kennedy (1:44.79) touched first for the victory which was followed by Regina Middleton, Shayna Longacre, Mindy Tang and Alex Allen for second place (1:46.39).

Rutgers knocked the wind out of the Crimson by finishing first, second and third in the 50 freestyle followed by a first through fourth place finish in the 100 freestyle.  The 50 freestyle was led by Freshman Alex Allen (23.81), and Juniors Angelina Colavito (23.88) and Ashley Dunphy (24.35).  Sophomore Madison Kennedy (51.60) led the sweep in the 100 free followed by Dunphy (52.67), Senior Sarah Bicknell (53.12) and Sophomore Kasey Kesses (53.41)  

The Knights also showed their depth and strength by going first and second in the 100 breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.   Senior captain Katie Kuczmarski touched the wall first (1:05.06), with Sophomore Shayna Longacre (1:05.38) closely behind. In the 100 yard backstroke it was Kennedy (57.43) and sophomore Cat Whetstone (57.56) going 1-2. Whetstone (55.87) and Bicknell (56.99) led the way in the 100 fly.   Other individual victories were made by Junior Ashley Dunphy in the 200 free (1:50.96), and Longacre in the 200 yard breaststroke (2:18.28).

Harvard scored the first-place points in 11 of the 16 events and swam the meet's final relay as a non-scoring exhibition. Seven Harvard swimmers registered individual victories, with Fiske, Rathgeber and Jones finishing as multiple-event winners.

Fiske led the way in the two breaststroke events as he won from both 100 and 200 yards. He edged Rutgers' Eric Lane to take the 100 in 58.64 seconds before leading a 1-2 Crimson finish in the 200 in 2:10.39.

Rathgeber picked up his two wins in the 200 backstroke and the 200 individual medley as he cruised to comfortable margins of victory in both races. He led a Harvard contingent that took four of the top five places in the 200 back by touching in 1:52.28 and led the way in the IM in 1:52.49.

Jones had key wins in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly. He won the freestyle in 46.91 before leading a 1-2 Crimson finish in the fly with a 50.23-second swim.

Freshman Alex Meyer took a comfortable win in the 1,000 freestyle, winning in 9:34.68. Senior Jason Degnan-Rojeski won going away in the 100 backstroke, defeating the closest opponent by 1.68 seconds in 51.38. Sophomore Dan Jones, meanwhile, also joined the victory parade as he led a 1-2 Harvard showing in the 200 butterfly (1:53.65). Sophomore David Guernsey took the 50 freestyle in 21.53.

Rutgers was paced by Andre Watson, who captured both diving events to finish as the Scarlet Knights' only double winner.

Harvard is back in action Saturday as the Crimson takes on unbeaten Navy in a key Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League meet at Blodgett Pool. The first race is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Scarlet Knights were led by Senior Captain Bobby Daplyn who won two individual races in the 200 free (1:42.49) and 500 free (4:42.45).  Rutgers divers came up big as Andre Watson and Artiom Jangols finished first and second respectively in both the 1 meter and 3 meter events.