Swimming Team Protests Selection of New Coach

The announcement Tuesday that Southern Illinois coach Ray Essick will take over the reins of Harvard's stellar swimming team has been dampened by widespread discontent among team members that they were not consulted during the selection process.

Sophomore swimmer Rich Baughman said yesterday that most of the team members felt they had not been given enough voice in selecting Essick, although co-captains Fred Mitchell and Phil Jonckheer were members of the committee that screened applicants for the coaching job. The actual selection of Essick was made by athletic director Robert B. Watson.

"We did not have any say in the matter," Baughman said. "The team was not consulted individually nor was there a team vote. That was the least they could have done," he said.

Jonckheer said yesterday that while most of the team approved of Essick, he felt they should have nevertheless have had more involvement in his selection.

Watson said yesterday that he told Mitchell and Jonckheer not to tell the team who was being considered because it might jeopardize the prospects' careers at their present schools.

Watson said that because of a lack of funds and because the team itself asked that a new coach be named before June, time could not be taken to allow a 20-member team to agree on one candidate.

"Even if they could have decided among themselves, it is not their responsibility to choose a coach," Watson said. "If a coach does not work our someone must take the blame. The team members will be here for a couple of more years at the most," he added.

Baughman said that although he realized that it would have been difficult for the team to reach a common agreement, the team members' viewpoints should nevertheles have been a factor in the selection of a new coach.