Jacobs and Seelen Pace Varsity Swim Squads

In 35 dual meets stretched across nearly four full seasons as a member of the Crimson's awesome aqua-squadron, co-captain Geoff Seelen has swum in only one losing effort. That lone blemish--a 65-48 upset at the hands of arch-rival Princeton--is not something Seelen takes lightly.

"Last season we were too concerned with Indiana and overlooked the importance of taking things one meet at a time," Seelen says. "Princeton will not get lucky this year and catch us off guard. The entire team is prepared to prove last year's loss was a fluke."

This Saturday at Princeton, the Tigers will get their first look at Seelen in his new role. With Coach Joe Bernal grooming a new backstroke ace in yardling Julian Bott, the multi-talented Seelen has moved over to lend depth to the Crimson freestyle sprint corps.

On His Back

During his first three seasons, Seelen proved himself one of the finest backstrokers in the history of Harvard swimming, closing out each season with an appearance at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. Last year, while earning his third consecutive trip to that showcase of college swimming, he turned out a 52.02 100-yd. backstroke to capture the Eastern Seaboard Championship race by a full body length.

Although established as a backstroker, the freestyle events are not new to the Eliot House senior. His 21.26 for the 50 free at last year's Eastern Seaboard Trials placed him second only to Jack Gauthier on the squad's roster for that event.

By concentrating on the 50 and 100 free, he will continue to take advantage of his ability as a racehorse swimmer. Racehorse swimmers--also known as drop-dead sprinters--are those whose mental and physical efforts are perfectly synchronized, thus allowing the athlete to approach or reach a personal best in the most important races.

"For me swimming is a mental sport as well as a physical one. I am fortunate enough to have powers of concentration which enable me to decide what I have to do and then convince myself I am capable of performing at the level required," Seelen explains.

These same powers of concentration give Seelen--who does not swim during the summer--the extra edge he needs to compete in a sport dominated by those dedicated to year-round preparation.

While family vacations kept him out of the pool during the summer, the former backstroke ace never wasted the rest of the year. Included in his 15 years of swimming were two as a member of Bernal's Gators, when that team was based in the Bronx.

The years immediately preceding his arrival on the Harvard scene saw the Pleasantville, N.Y. native competing for the Stamford Swim Club and rising to one of the nation's top ranked prep swimmers while representing The Hackley School.

On the way to earning All-America honors twice during his prep school career, Seelen drew the attention of college coaches around the country. In the end, he spurned scholarship offers from a number of other schools, including Duke and UVA, to follow an older brother to Harvard.

Tendonltis

John Seelen, a member of the class of '77, earned the Brooks Bowl--an award presented to the year's outstanding freshman swimmer--before being forced out of the limelight by tendonitits, during his sophomore season.

"Since one of my older brother went to Harvard, I was familiar with the Ivy League philosophy towards sports," Seelen comments. "I knew I would be most comfortable here at Harvard, with swimming as part of my life and not necessarily the dominant force."

During the weeks after he decided to attend Harvard, the former Gator learned that Bernal would be taking over the Crimson that fall. This reassured him that he chose the right school.

Sure

"Although swimming was just one of the reasons I chose Harvard, the knowledge that I would be swimming under a coach I could communicate with and who I felt confident would create a winning environment made me certain I'd made the correct choice," Seelen recalls.

Now in his final year, Seelen is still very pleased he chose Harvard. A geology major whose long range career possibilities include both the natural resources industry and finance banking, he plans to apply for an internship in the Harvard Admissions Office, which he feels would give him the opportunity to give something back to the college.

However, until the end of this Saturday's meet against the Tigers, Seelen has his powers of concentration focused on taking something away from a college. He wants to leave Princeton with a Harvard win that will avenge that one loss.