Princeton Leads in Women's Championships; Yale's Sindee Simon Shatters Meet Record

Few surprises surfaced from the water of Harvard's Blodgett Pool during the opening events of the three-day Women's Eastern Seaboard Championships last night.

The pool swam fast (15 people qualified for Nationals two weeks down the road); co-favorites Princeton and Pitt jumped ahead of the pack--with Penn State close behind. Harvard solid fourth, and Yalie Sindee Simon shattered the meet record in the 200-yard backstroke with a smoking 2:03:84.

"I thought I could break the record. Simon said after her race. "I've been swimming well all season, and before the race I talked with my coach [Frank Keefe]. He thought I could do it too."

Though fives swimmers in the race qualified for the Austin, Tex. Nationals two weeks down the road, Simon ran away with the race, outdistancing the second place finisher by three seconds. The three-year-old record was 2:06:19. Now it's two-and-a-half seconds less. In the future. Simon hopes it dips even lower. "After I did it, I was happy, but I wanted to go 2:03. I guess I got almost as close as you can get."

If Simon grabbed most of the Eastern's limelight. Harvard junior Shelby Calvert shone in a few events of her own. She stroked to tentative national qualifying times in both the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke, and anchored the Crimson's 800-yard freestyle relay team to third place.

Tentative, or under "Consideration," stand her times, and those of many other swimmers in the meet, because the AIAW has not yet set definite cutoff marks. The governing body, under seige warfare with the NCAA, is uncertain how many members will defect to its rival before Nationals, and how many swimmers consequently will be available to fill event quotas.

Follow the leader

Sophomore Debbie Zimic joined teammate Calvert on the conditional qualifier conscription in the 200-yard IM, while Crimson diving triumvirate Jennifer Goldman, Adrian Holy, and Pamela Stone cut cleanly into the one-meter diving top ten, placing second, fourth, and tenth for the Crimson.

Though Princeton compiled only two first-places to Pittsburgh's three (including a meet-record 55:69 by Panther Amy Jackson in the 100 fly), in the seven swimming events, the Tigers used consistently solid finishes to 235 points. Pitt complied 215, and Penn State 211.