Crimson Swimmers to Face Johns Hopkins Today

Harvard's aquatic juggernaut rolls down to Baltimore today to meet college-division swim power Johns Hopkins.

Hopkins, a perennial top-ten finisher in the NCAA college division, is led by a flock of outstanding aquatic Blue Jays. All-American Bill Milne, described by Hopkins coach Frank Comford as "definitely our best swimmer," has taken six individual college-division championships in the last three years.

Bird Bath

Although Milne is the Blue Jays' best hope, he certainly is not the only good swimmer in the Hopkins bird bath. Six other All-Americans, as well as a stellar freshman class, are featured on the Hopkins power squadron.

John Patzschke, the freshman freestyler and 200-yard backstroker for Johns Hopkins, was acclaimed as among the best prep schools swimmers last year. Another freshman star, Doug Tohir, set a university record on the three-meter board for Hopkins in his first collegiate meet Wednesday night.

Harvard coach Ray Essick voiced cautious optimism about today's meet. "We were at a high pitch last weekend against Dartmouth, and there is a tendency to flatten out after that kind of performance," he said yesterday.

One trademark of the Crimson swim team this season is the unprecedented amount of versatility on the squad. Whereas everyone swam in their traditional events against Dartmouth last weekend, there might be an experimental lineup for today's meet.

"The lineup will be mixed," Essick said, "but not weakened."

The most interesting matchup will feature Milne and Crimson star Hess Yntema in the 200-yard butterfly. Milne was the small-college individual champion in this event last year, while Yntema placed third behind Gary Hall of Indiana in the university-division 200-yard butterfly.

If Johns Hopkins is to have a chance in today's meet, it will need a strong performance from its freshmen. "We have about the third or fourth best crop of freshmen in the East," Comford said, "and we count on them a lot."

"But, in all reality, our bunch pales in comparison to the freshmen that Princeton and especially Harvard has this year," Comford said. "For that matter, Harvard probably has one of the best freshman classes in the history of East Coast swimming."