Swimmers Start Fast at Easterns; Lead by 16

Round one in this weekend's battle of Eastern swimming heavyweights went to Harvard's undefeated aquamen yesterday, as the Crimson jumped out to a slim lead over defending champion Princeton during the first day of the Eastern Seaboard Championships at Providence, R.I.

Freshman sensation Bobby Hackett and junior sprinter Malcolm Cooper each copped individual victories, as Harvard racked up 111 points in the competition. Princeton stayed hot on the Crimson's trail with 95 points, followed by Army with 64 and Dartmouth and Columbia with 54 apiece.

Silver Streak

Hackett, a silver medalist in the 1976 Montreal Olympics who led Harvard to a perfect 8-0 dual meet slate this year, broke the meet record by six seconds en route to his triumph in the 500-yd. freestyle. Hackett won with a time of 4:24.47, as his teammate and classmate Michael Coglin--another Olympian (from Great Britain)--finished fifth in that race.

Cooper, the man with the famous aerial start, remained unbeaten this season in the 50-yd. freestyle, as he turned on the jets to burn the field with a smoking time of 20.82.

Another of Harvard's rotary-engine freshmen, Julian Mack, took a somewhat disappointing ninth in that event. Mack, who has been a steady winner for the Crimson all season, was hoping to make the finals in this two-lap, start and turn contest, the most unpredictable of events.

The Crimson's advantage is a bit misleading, as most observers expected yesterday to be Harvard's highest-scoring day in the three-day extravaganza. In the 200 Medley Relay--an event that many picked Harvard to win--Princeton's quartet of Alan Fine, Chuck Hector, Bill Specht and Andy O'Hara splashed to victory in 3:26.67.

The Harvard team of Geoff Seelen, Tuomo Kerola, Malcolm Cooper and Julian Mack placed second in 3:27.44. Crimson Coach Joe Bernal pulled a mild surprise in the medley by not swimming Hackett, who split a blazing 45.0 against Yale last weekend, in the anchor leg. A swimmer may race in all three relays and three individual events in the championships, but apparently Bernal wanted to save his premier swimmer for a later showdown.

The Crimson also finished strongly in the one-meter diving, although it did not dominate the event as completely as diving coach John Walker had hoped it would. Graig Gavin led the pack of four Cantabrigians who made it to the top 12, as he finished fourth.

Teammates Steve Schramm, Jamie Greacen and Mike Toal took fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively.

Senior co-captain Duncan Pyle rounded out the Crimson's first-day scoring by sailing to victory in the consolation finals of the 200 Individual Medley, which left him seventh overall in the event. Dartmouth's Todd Taylor won the event in 1:54.47.

Today could be a big comeback day for Princeton, as Bill Specht and John Christensen look like sure winners in the 100-yd. butterfly and the 100-yd. breastroke.

A key race in today's action will be the dogfight in the 100-yd. backstroke, with Harvard's Pyle and Seelen battling Princeton's DeCosse and Specht for second place in a race that will most likely go to navy's Mark Heinrich. The Middie has been timed at 52.7 already this year, a full second faster than the rest of the competition.

Must-Win

A must-win event for Harvard if it plans to hold onto the lead is the 800-yd. freestyle relay. The fearsome foursome of Coglin, Mack, Cooper and Hackett is heavily favored (and in fact could do quite well at the NCAAs later this month); a choke here could be very costly.

The untouchable Mr. Hackett should score another first in the 200-yd. freestyle if Bernal plugs him into this event, although the coach may save his ace for the 400 Intermediate Medley. The 200-yd. freestyle is another crucial event, and the Crimson would get a big boost if Mack and Coglin make the top six.

In any case, by tonight the score should be about even, setting the stage for a wild finale on Saturday night.