Aquamen Avenge Last Year's Losses

One year to the weekend after it tell victim to the unthinkable, the Harvard men's swimming team this weekend served notice that everyone ought to think again if they've set their sights on toppling the Crimson this season.

Just two days after they shelled a visiting Navy squad, the aquamen yesterday bombed an invading Columbia team. 90-23, to complete one of their biggest weekend sweeps in years.

What made the squad's second and third victories of the year, so sweet was not the fact, the Midshipmen and the Lions boast the top teams in the East, though they do.

Instead, what made the weekend slayings so sweet, was the knowledge that Harvard had finally achieved revenge over the two squads that last year ended the Crimson's 32-straight dual meet dominance.

Then holders of the longest active winning streak in collegiate swimming history. Harvard dropped more meets in a single weekend last year--two to be exact--than it had dropped in the six previous years combined.

So this weekend's slayings of the two squads that inflicted the damage came as pleasant news.

And the fact that both wins came so easily came as even better news.

"We showed what kind of depth we have," said freshman Lars Reirson, who wasn't there a year ago but who said anyway that "revenge was very, very sweet."

Harvard often used swimmers yesterday in events for which they hadn't prepared.

"We swam off events, but there was no question that we were going to win," said Reierson.

Senior diver Dan Watson-back from a year of Olympic training-qualified for the NCAA with a perfect 10 on his final three-meter dive yesterday.

Meanwhile, in the swimming events, victories by Dave Berkoff, Dave Barnes, John Pearson. Tim Ford and a host of others paved the way to Yesterday's triumph-one of the most lopskied victories in recent Harvard history.

Freshman John Kith stole the show, though, logging a total of 69681 total yards as the Crimson's Ironman. The honor of swimming every event and a little more during the diving events-traditionally goes to a freshman, and this year Kich earned it.

In fact, Kich actually unofficially earned second place in the 200 yd. Freestyle.

The aquamen return to action Tuesday night at Brown.