Toal Wins Three-Meter Diving

The Harvard men's varsity swim team added another name to its growing list of NCAA qualifiers when senior diver Mike Toal won the three-meter diving event at the NCAA Northeastern qualifying meet at Pennsylvania State University on Saturday.

Toal, who trailed Cornell's Paul Steck (the victor in Friday's one-meter competition) by 12 points going into the final three rounds of diving, was "not to be denied, said Harvard coach John Walker. "He was a little mad at himself for not making it in the low board, so he was determined to win the thing," added the Crimson mentor.

Toal came on in the final three dives to outpoint Steck by the score of 498.0 to 491.0. Pitt's Scott Winkler and Columbia's Mike Gurnee finished third and fourth, respectively, to round out the top four who became eligible for the national meet at Long Beach, Cal., March 24, 25 and 26. 26.

The Crimson's Steve Schramm, who dove "very consistently but not very spectacularly," according to his coach, placed fifth and therefore will not compete in the high-board event. Schramm did, however, qualify in the one-meter with a third-place finish on Friday.

The real disappointment for Harvard in the meet came when Jamie Greacen's foot slipped on his full twist two-and-a-half and he failed the dive. Greacen, who was diving well up to that point, thus received points for only ten dives while all other divers scored on the usual 11 dives. "It was just a freak thing," said a somewhat disappointed Walker, "but it happens to even the best divers." Nevertheless, Greacen will also make the trek to Long Beach by virtue of his fourth-place effort on the low board.

Toal, Schramm and Greacen will join a host of Harvard swimmers who have already qualified. That group includes freshmen Bobby Hackett (200-, 500- and 1650-yd. freestyles), Michael Coglin (400-yd. individual medley) and Geoff Seelen (100-yd. backstroke), junior Malcolm Cooper (50-yd. freestyle), and Harvard's 400-yd. freestyle, 800-yd. freestyle and 400-yd. medley relay teams.