SWIMMING
Dartmouth swimmers, under Coach Michael's able hand, have moved through the heat of fast EISL action to emerge with a very creditable 8-2 record, with only two regular meets remaining prior to Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championships and the NCAA's to be held in Hanover this month.
The Indian swimmers came up with a close 60-53 win over the Cadets at West Point, though a case of nerves at their first serious threat almost caused a Dartmouth defeat. Following a narrow Green win in the opening 400-yard medley relay, Coach Michael inadvertently handed the meet officials the wrong entries for the 200 and the 50-yard freestyle events. Stroking out of their depths, so to speak, the bewildered Dartmouth swimmers managed to capture crucial second places in the two events. Army quickly took advantage of the Big Green's confusion, capturing firsts in the next three events as well. A strong comeback held off the Cadets, but the meet rested on the final relay. On paper the two relay teams looked equal, but Army had the advantage of their own pool, and Dartmouth's early blunders. Captain Brad Lindeblad swam the final leg for the Green, as both teams registered indentical times on the electronic timekeeper. Lindeblad had won "by a touch," however, as the judges ruled he finished just inches ahead of his rapidly closing opponent.
The following week the Green natators were on the road again, at Pennsylania and Princeton. On Friday the Indians dominated a weak Quaker squad, 82-31. Though the meet posed few problems, a breakdown in Penn's pool filters had allowed the water to become cloudy. Unable to see clearly, several Dartmouth swimmers injured ankles on turns. Fortunately, no one was more than bruised, but against Princeton the next afternoon, it may have made a difference, as the Green lost another close meet to the Tigers, 60-53. Several Dartmouth swimmers posted truly outstanding performances, among them Captain Lindeblad, Terry Robinson, and Al Petersen, as the Indians won firsts in eight of the 13 events, only to be bested by Princeton's depth and tenacious hold on second and third spots when they missed the top mark. It was a far stronger showing than a season ago when the Tigers completely overwhelmed the Green.
Having been handed their first loss, the Indians ripped off an easy 79-25 win over Columbia, and a key 68-45 victory against Harvard. The Lions afforded Coach Michael a final chance to evaluate his personnel prior to the Carnival meet with Harvard, and a later test against Yale. A special non-competing relay team of Lindeblad, Robinson, Fred Severance, and Stu Vance aimed at the qualifying mark for the NCAA's and missed it by only 1.5 seconds. At that their time of 3:13.72 ranked them fourth in the nation. Against Harvard Dartmouth swimmers jumped off to a commanding lead in what should have been a much closer meet. Diver Mike Brown, in a stirring display of his diving talents, outshone Harvard's Bob Murphy, the defending Eastern League champ.
Brown continued his superb performance against Yale the following week. Visiting Hanover, the Bulldogs took advantage of the meet to become familiar with the Indians' new pool, in anticipation of the NCAA action there. Dartmouth was no match for the Elis' roster of super-swimmers. Boasting a four-time Olympic gold medal winner in Captain Don Schollander, and several winners from the recent Pan American games, Yale stormed to a 75-38 victory. For Dartmouth, Brown was the top diver, while Eli Captain Schollander, swimming in Hanover for the first time in his four years at Yale, won the 500- and 1000-yard freestyles with ease. He set a new pool record in the 1000-yard event, clipping nearly 30 seconds off the old mark with a very fast 10:07.36.
The Indians should finish strong against Colgate and Cornell, as they are wellbalanced and much improved over last season, as the score of the Yale meet would indicate. Just where this will land them in the EISL and NCAA ratings is difficult to say. Last season Dartmouth finished fifth in the Eastern rankings, and seems certain to climb several steps higher this year. Captain Lindeblad, who will be attempting to repeat his All-American winning form in the freestyle, is confident that his teammates are prepared for some very fast performances.
Dartmouth's Rick Lounsbury dominatedthe Carnival alpine events with firsts inboth the downhill and slalom.
