Yntema, Swimming Stand-Out, Reflects On Harvard's Season

When the Harvard Swim Team placed second in the Eastern Seaboard Intercollegiate Championship two weeks ago, sophomore Hess Yntema turned in a spectacular performance winning three individual titles and almost pulling out a Harvard championship with a furious finish in the tournament's concluding 400-yard relay.

In an interview yesterday, Yntema said he was disappointed about losing the Easterns but that coach Ray Essick has taken the team a long way.

"Last year we lost by a hundred points and this time we only lost by eight to the same team," he said.

Yntema won the 200-yard butterfly. He said there was a lot of pressure, but that "short races aren't as grueling as, say, the 1650-yard freestyle."

A Sprinter

Yntema has a clear perference for the short races. "I'm a sprinter," he said. Last year he did swim the 1650-yard free style several times, but he said that was only a "momentary madness."

In true Harvard tradition, Yntema considers himself a student first. A social anthropology major considering law school, he said that, "swimming takes up my free time, but it's second to my studies."

He considers this season to be especially rewarding and credits much of the team's success to an outstanding group of freshmen swimmers.

On the subject of attracting top quality swimmers to Harvard, Yntema said "Harvard is not in a strong recruiting position. A student can only get a scholarship if he is needy and most swimmers don't fit that category; many times they go to places like Stanford or USC where they can get something for their swimming."

The swimmers are now griding for the Nationals in Long Beach, California next week where Yntema predicts Harvard will finish somewhere between tenth and twentieth.

"East coast collegiate swimming is coming up, but it still is not comparable to the western schools," he said.

Whatever happens in Long Beach next week, Yntema said he is enthusiastic about the prospects for the next two years. He has one goal in particular. "Personally, I found it aggravating losing the Easterns and I'd very much like to be on a team that wins it."