The teams are many that will be going after the Eastern Women's Swimming League Championship at Princeton's DiNunzio Natatorium -- 26 to be exact.

But in reality only two, Princeton and Harvard, have a shot at dethroning the Lady Lions in the three-day event, which starts today. The team had great success against Princeton this season. First, Penn State upset the Lady Tigers at the Princeton Invitational, then a week later it trounced them, 186-105, at McCoy Natatorium.

Penn State did not face Harvard this season. But the Lady Crimson are looking to win their third championship in four years, after the Lady Lions ended Harvard's streak last year.

"We love a close meet," Harvard coach Maura Costin Scalise said. "We also love to swim against Penn State."

Harvard is strongest in the distance freestyles, led by Stacey Duncan. They also have Stephanie Wriede who has qualified for the National Championships in the 200-yard breaststroke. This year the Lady Crimson will also have two divers compete. One of the reasons the Lady Lions were able to win last year was because Harvard did not have any divers, and Lady Lion Lara vonSeelan won on the 3-meter board.

"We're also looking to make NCAA cuts," Scalise said. "It's going to take Penn State to make those cuts with us."

The Lady Tigers are looking to have the home advantage help them take the title. But Coach Susan Teeter-Eggert does not think it's an advantage.

"The advantage is in just knowing the pool," Teeter-Eggert said. "But it's a distraction being on your own campus."

Princeton will be led by freshman sensation Grace Cornelius. The individual events Cornelius will be swimming are the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

Teeter-Eggert is not expecting any miracles. The Lady Tigers have come in fourth or fifth the last few years, so winning a championship is not her goal.

"We have the best team we've had here in a while," Teeter-Eggert said. "We're just looking to get into the big three."

The other 23 teams that will be competing are: Villanova, Yale, Pittsburgh, Brown, Syracuse, Penn, Cornell, Drexel, James Madison, Dartmouth, Lehigh, American University, Boston, Columbia, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Northeastern, William & Mary, Connecticutt, Fordom, Delaware, Richmond and LaSalle.

Coach Bob Krimmel, though, thinks the toughest competition will come from Princeton and Harvard.