4 Radcliffe Swimmers Collect Ribbons at Eastern Regionals

Four Radcliffe swimming standouts teamed up against a bevy of full-strength squads at last weekend's Easterns in Westchester, Pa. and came home with ribbons in eight events.

The foursome of Connie Cervilla, RoAnn Costin, Nancy Sato, and Julie Bradley compiled 87 team points-good for the 11th place niche in a 24-team field that included Westchester State University, the 1972 NCAA National champions.

With their individual and relay performances, the four Radcliffe representatives proved once again what they've been proving all season: 'Cliffe swimmers may study while they're on the benches but they look like jocks once they hit the water.

Radcliffe is the only one of the top 12 squads that does not engage in athletic recruiting or offer physical education majors.

Polished Up

Sophomore Sato, who last month won the New England championship in the one-meter dive, polished up her three-meter board performance for a third place in Saturday's competition. She also took seventh in the one-meter contest.

Team captain Cervilla let loose her powerful butterfly for sixth-place rankings in the 50- and 100-yd. events. Her 50-yd. performance time of 28.8 seconds established a new Radcliffe team record and put her in contention for national awards.

Shattered Records

Costin, a consistent threat in the freestyle, shattered her previous records to place fourth in the 200-yd. race and eighth in the 400. Her respective times of 2:05.6 and 57.66 both sliced almost a full second off previous performances and ranked in the nation's top ten, according to last year's NCAA standings.

In Radcliffe's top threats of the season, the 400-and 200-yd. freestyle relays, the four swimmers swept aside the pressures of regional competition for fifth and seventh place honors in the two events. Sato, Cervilla. Costin and Bradley's 1:48.8 performance in the 200 broke Radcliffe's season record.

Undefeated in its regular season. Radcliffe made an impressive show of strength at the Easterns and the New Englands two weeks earlier. "We always knew we could best those phys. ed. jocks at College Bowl, but threatening them in their own element with only a fraction of our team was real success." one of the swimmers said yesterday.