Swimmers Thrash Muskies For Fourth Win of Season

Last night's swimming meet against UConn was the sort of meet you'd expect during reading period, and with little fanfare, Harvard routed the Huskies, 66-38, in the IAB pool.

It was the Crimson's fourth win in five contests and it set the stage for Saturday's important matchup with Dartmouth, the 12th-ranked team in the nation.

Last night some swimmers entered their regular events in order to get a trial run before facing Dartmouth, while others preferred to keep the pressure to a minimum and swam strokes to which they are not accustomed.

But it never really mattered. Harvard took the medley relay in 3:43.9; Henry Watson was first in the 1000-free (10:45.8); and Rich Roebuck edged to a 1:56.8 victory in the 200-free. The score then was 18-7, and the Crimson won another three events before UConn's Tom Welch won the butterfly in 2:10.5.

That win enabled the Huskies to draw within 15 points, 38-23, and then came one of the night's few exciting moments. Horvitz and UConn's Ken Phillips staged a stroke-for-stroke race in the 100-free, with Ackermann winning in a rather slow 50.0 and Phillips second in 50.3.

This may have inspired the Huskies. They took the next two events as captain Ted Brindamour won the back stroke in 2:12.5 and Ed Becker won the 500-free in 5:30.8.

At that point, the Crimson added the finishing touches when Dave Strauss was first in the breaststroke (2:23.7), and he freestyle relay team eased to a victory in 3:23.4.

Some Harvard swimmers admitted being tired last night because of a regular afternoon practice yesterday.