Good Breaststroke, Sprints On '57 Swimming Squad

If the freshman swimming team were as strong in every position as it is in the breaststroke and the sprints, it would have no trouble completing its season undefeated.

So far this year, the Yardlings have won all three of their meets, 56 to 19 over Brown, 48 to 27 over M.I.T., and in their last outing they beat St. George's, 51 to 24.

The team includes to Coach Bill Brooks. Among the breaststrokers is newly-elected Captain Sigo Falk, who was captain of the Exeter swimming team, holds the National Prep School record for the 100-yard breaststroke, which he set last year. He comes from Pittsburgh, Pa., and lives in Mower.

However, Falk has not swum yet this year, because of a septum operation; he expects to be back in action some time next week.

In addition to Falk is Bob Jaffe, whom Coach Brooks rates not far behind him. During Falk's absence, Jaffe has filled in as number one breaststroker. John Fowler has swum number two up to now.

"We have six breaststrokers," moaned Brooks, "and we can't use them all. If only the others were freestylers or backstrokers, we'd be set."

His strong sprinters are led by Stu Ogden in the 50, whom Brooks calls the most promising man on the squad, Another outstanding sprinter is John Lind, who turned in the best individual performance this season with a 54.3 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Behind these two are Roger Clifton and Steve Singer. Clifton, former Massachusetts state 50-yard champion, swims the 50, while Singer swims the 100.

The combination of Falk or Jaffe, Ogden, and Paul Santemire, who has "fine possibilities in the backstroke," gives the Yardlings a medley relay team which Brooks says should better the performances of last year's team.

However, he added, we have mainly sprinters, not swimmers. This hurts us in the long distances, where we are forced to enter sprinters instead of distance men. In the 200-yard freestyle, for example, Chouteau Dyer has won the two races in which he has been entered. Dyer, a converted 100-yard man, could not measure up to regular distance men, Brooks said.

The other distance men are Harry Eldridge and Dave Wharton, who have been swimming the 200-yard freestyle. They have been practicing the 440, which they will enter against Dartmouth and Yale, since freshman meets until then do not schedule this long distance.

In the diving, Fred Eton and Art Marvin have both looked good, but Brooks is hoping that Joe Ellis, whom he considers a diver of national calibre, will come out for the team in the near future.

Brooks emphasized that one of the troubles of a freshman swimming coach is "to get the boy for a long enough workout. He can't spend all his time at the pool, and the time he does spend is not enough to do a sizable job of developing him into a great swimmer. All the boys have fine possibilities, but they can't give the time to become great swimmers."