Varsity Tankmen Rout Connecticut

The varsity swimming team got back into the win column with relative ease last night by swamping the University of Connecticut, 62-35, in the IAB, upping its record to 5-2.

As usual, sophomores Steve Krause and Dave Powlison emerged as the stars of the meet for the Crimson. Krause won the freestyle events at both 200 and 500 yards, his time of 5:00.6 in the 500 was his best performance of the year at that distance. Powlison was second to Krause in the 500, and was a decisive victor in the 200-yard individual medley, downing opponent Kirk Thorton.

Medley win

Harvard's swimmers in the 400-yard medley relay opened the meet with a win to put the Crimson on top, 7-0. But UConn's Quentin Pearson and Marc Dinnerstein combined for a sweep in the 1000-yard free, which Krause sat out, to knot the score, 8-8.

The Crimson took first and third places in the next three events, however, to build a nine-point lead, 26-17. Harvard's Mike Cahalan was held out of the 50-free, his specialty, but teammate Johnny Bragg took advantage of the opportunity and won in 22.9 to help build the ninepoint bulge.

Things got worse for the Connecticut visitors as Bill Murphy and Dick Eisenberg earned a sweep for the Crimson in the one-meter dive. Harvard coach Bill Brooks, truly a man of mercy, did not enter ace Johnnie Munk in the butterfly, and captain Martie Chaffle responded with a victory in 2:06.1.

Gerhart Wins

With the score 45-25, Harvard's Toby Gerhart produced a win in the 1000-yard free, with teammate Jim Smolen grabbing third. Smolen, a sophomore, was swimming for the first time since injuring his shoulder at West Point on December 7. Smolen was also third in the 200-yard free, and he may provide some of the depth which Harvard needs.

UConn Thrills

UConn partisans had their thrills in the next event, the backstroke, an Pat Hoffman and Teddy Brindamour splashed to a sweep to narrow the Crimson advantage to 46-33. Unfortunately, the visitors could only muster two points in the remaining three races.

Krause's second triumph clinched the win, and Steve Baumgart and Buzz Cummins followed with a 1-2 finish in the breaststroke. A come-from-behind victory for Harvard in the freestyle relay made the score even more impressive.

The freshman meet, if somewhat less important, was definitely more exciting, as the Yardlings edged Andover Academy, 48-47. Dan Kobick's victory in the backstroke was the highlight for Harvard, enabling the Crimson to tie and subsequently go ahead. Kobick's time to 55.2 set a new Harvard freshman record, breaking by 0.7 seconds the standard he set earlier this season.