Divers Excel

Judges' scores: Eight, eight, eight and one-half...

Even the ultra-casual swimming far who watches aquatic sports only between the women's gymnastics and men's hoop on the tube every fourth year recognizes the source of the above phrase.

To Harvard swimming coaches in recent years, the announcement of diving scores has become music to their ears, meaning that it's time to sit back and watch the points pile up on the scoreboard in the column under the big "H."

This year has been no different. Steve Schramm and Jamie Greacen, this season's aerialists, have scored at least eight points in every dual meet and have more often than not accounted for 16 (on a 5-3-1 scoring system). In the Princeton meet, their 16 points neutralized the Tiger victories in both relays and helped boost the Crimson to a 59-54 victory--the key to its undefeated season.

Over the weekend. Schramm and Greacen contributed 63 points to the Crimson cause. Greacen finished third in both the one-and the three-meter contests while Schramm took second in the lowboard and fifth in the highboard events. Princeton had no divers entered. Harvard's margin of victory was 58: 606-548.

It would be grossly unfair to insinuate that the divers won the meet, but it would be equally ludicrous to downplay the significance of their contribution. Their points were anticipated and counted upon in pre-meet calculations.

What was not anticipated was that Schramm would hit his head and left shoulder blade on the board during his final tune-up session Wednesday. Undaunted, the Westfield, N.J., junior took to the board the next day wearing a bathing cap to protect his bandage and eight stitches. Despite the injuries and a stomach virus, the end of the 11-dive contest found only three-time defending champion Paul Steck standing between Schramm and the gold medal.

In the three-meter event, Schramm fell to 11th place after five dives, then gradually worked his way up to fifth at the finish. "It was just a gutsy performance," diving coach John Walker said afterwards. "I couldn't be more proud of him."

Greacen, in the meantime, put on quite a show of his own. His reverse dive from the highboard on the last night earned him a nine-and-one-half from one judge and at least eights from all the others.

Unlike the swimmers, the divers don't have the luxury of a three-week break until NCAAs. They must earn the privilege of participating at nationals at an Eastern regional qualifying meet at Blodgett this weekend. "The competition there is a little stronger than this weekend's." Greacen says, "but we're both confident that we can qualify on both boards."

Considering that Greacen has gone to the national meet for the past three years, that prediction doesn't seem unreasonable.

Another safe guess is that Princeton coaches Bill Farley and Rick Schavone will be hot on the recruiting trail this spring hunting for a diver or two.