Swimmers Face Resilient Quakers

For years, everyone in the Eastern Swimming League used to step on Columbia and Penn. This year Columbia has left the League, and Penn has zoomed to the top.

Harvard, which sometimes appears ready to fill the vacuum at the bottom, has the unenviable task today of trying to stop the Quakers in their own pool.

No one in the EISL has beaten Penn this year, while the Crimson has lost to Army. Dartmouth, and Princeton. In fact, even Yale lost to the Quakers, ending a dual-meet streak of 74 victories.

Such an accomplishment by Penn is impressive enough, but even more startling was the list of times. Ted Kriebel won the 200-free in 1:43.7, and Bob Atkinson won both the backstroke (1:58.6) and the medley (1:58.7). The relay times were 3:32.5 and 3:10.1.

Harvard's coaches don't expect the Quakers to equal their Yale times today. They feel that Penn peaked for the Elis. Of course the Crimson isn't peaking today either. The team worked hard this week instead of tapering, realizing that the Yale meet is next weekend and for once Harvard has a chance to win it.

As always, an important factor in the Harvard performance today will be the individual efforts of Steve Krause. He expects to swim the butterfly and both distance freestyles, where he will be matched with Penn's Rusty Varley. Varley's best times in both events this year (4:43.5 and 10:04.0) are lower than Krause's.

Captain Mike Cahalan will renew his rivalry with Steve Kowal, practically the only senior on the mostly-sophomore team. Kowal has become an outstanding sprinter, going under 47.0 often in the 100-free.

But if the times are any indication at all, the dives will be about the only events in which Harvard will be favored.

Penn's impending dynasty is perhaps the most quickly constructed one in history. Coach George Breen, a former Olympian, attracts the talent, works it to the bone, and convinces would-be quitters that leaving the team is analogous to mutiny.

Naturally, his success hasn't done much for his popularity ratings at other schools. "I have a bit of a personal grudge against Penn," Cahalan said last month. "I think everyone in the Eastern League does. They're doing Big Ten swimming."