To Sink Or Swim: Question Answered at Princeton

PRINCETON, N. J.--Facing a squad of pumped-up Tigers and a large partisan crowd, the Harvard women's swimming team rose to the challenge and crushed Princeton, 93-47, here at Dillon Pool Saturday.

The Crimson(now 7-0 overall, 5-0 Ivies) dominated the meet from start to finish, taking a close first race--the 200-yd. medley relay--and never looking back. The squad now needs only two more victories to clinch its second straight Ivy League championship.

Princeton, which had hopes of an upset, fell to 2-4 (2-3 in the Ivy League).

"Right now, the team is mentally sharp," Harvard Coach Maura Costin Scalise said. "They put their minds towards the races that they are in, plus they don't like to lose. I have never seen this team not do the job."

Even in a strange pool with a big enemy crowd--over 500 people were at the meet--the Crimson handled the pressure. Harvard won 11 of the 16 events and never finished lower than second place in any race. In addition, the aquawomen broke or tied five school records and three Dillon Pool records.

Harvard sophomore Jenny Greene swept the diving competition, breaking three records in the process. On the one-meter board, Greene's total of 305 points bested both pool and team marks, the latter by over 20 points.

In the three-meter event, Greene again snapped her own Harvard record with her winning score of 324 points--the third time she has broken the record this year.

Linda Suhs did some record-breaking of her own Saturday, tying or breaking two individual marks and one relay record. Suhs tied her own record in the 50 freestyle (24.29 seconds) and lowered her mark in the 100 freestyle--52.74 seconds--even though she took second place in the race.

Suhs also teamed up with Sheila Findley, Mia Costello and Mary Quinn to topple the school and pool records in the 200 medley relay with a winning time of 1:47.96.

Costello lowered the pool record in the 100 breaststroke to 1:06.78, good enough for a first place showing. She completed a sweep of the breaststroke events with her victory in the 200 breaststroke later in the meet.

Other winners for the Crimson included Kaari Reierson, Janice Sweetser and Jenny Meyer. Reierson took the 1000 freestyle and the 200 backstroke, Sweetser claimed the 500 freestyle, and Meyer earned the top spot in the 200 individual medley.

Suhs, Costello, Quinn and Sweetser combined to take the day's final event, the 400 freestyle relay, with a time of 3:34.18.

The next step for the Crimson on the road toward a perfect season and an Ivy title is a home meet this Saturday against Cornell. Should Harvard win, only a contest at Penn would lie between the squad and its second straight championship.

Harvard's season will culminate in the Eastern Championships, held at Brown on February 26,27 and 28.

Still, Costin Scalise is not completely satisfied.

"There are still people on the team who have not reached their potential," she said. "They can always go farther, and there will always be someone who is better."