Aquamen Extend Lead in Day Two of Easterns

HANOVER, N.H.--After the second day of the Eastern Seaboard Swimming Championships, the Harvard men's swim team is riding high atop the meet's largest wave. With a spectacular 359 points, the Crimson aquamen have a firm hold on first place, with Princeton and host Dartmouth trailing in the distance with 194 and 136.5 respectively.

Only the events changed, as Harvard's Ted Chappell once again scored a victory in the evening's first championship final, the 400-yd. individual medley. With a 3:58.19, Chappell posted his second Karl B. Michael pool record in as many days. Gutsy senior Mike Coglin nabbed second with a 3:58.99

Adding a third place finish to the number two slot he earned in last night's 200-yd. IM race, Tom Verdin, with a 4:01.21, narrowly missed the 3:59.83 which would have allowed him to join Chappell and Coglin when the event is contested at the 1981 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas at the end of this month.

All-Americans Bobby Hackett and Larry Countryman jetted themselves through green waters with a 1:39.65 and 1:40.74 for a 1-2 finish in the 200-yd. freestyle. For Hackett it is a repeat performance. A 1:38.90 propelled the senior co-captain to his first Eastern Seaboard title ever three years ago.

Following a duel with Dartmouth's Bob Spears in a swim-off to determine the last qualifier for the championship final, Yardling Tony Meier fought choppy waters in lane six, yet posted a 50.82 to secure fourth place in the 100-yd. butterfly, Princeton's Mike Smith raced to the top spot, just squeaking by Harvard's veteran Jack Gauthier.

After concentrating on the freestyle sprints for the dual meet season. Geoff Seelen proved himself once again, with a 52.26 to steal the 100-yd. backstroke event for the second year in a row. Teammate Dave Phillips, who along with Julian Bott seems destined to fill the gap that Seelen's upcoming graduation will leave in the Crimson's backstroke corps, reached the wall third, following Seelen and Temple's Cooper Taylor.

Dean Putterman became the first of the fabulous freshman credited with an individual title in this year's Easterns. Putterman held off challengers in the 100-yd. breastroke with a 57.53. Sophomore Jim Carbone added points to the Crimson total with a fifth, touching just after the pre-meet favorite. Tiger John Christenson.

"It was great to be able to contribute to the team with a win. Of course, I'm a little disappointed to have just missed NCAA cuts, but that was a secondary aim," Putterman said following the victory.

"These are the finest freshman we've seen in the program since I've been at Harvard. Their quick adjustment to the academic load at Harvard and proper allocation of time to both school work and training enabled them to fit in immediately. It is important to realize one of the factors which makes this team so dynamic is that every individual enjoys the success of his teammates and is primarily concerned with the team's showing," said Coach Joe Bernal.

Further demonstrating this team's invincibility, Harvard's Chappell, Gauthier, Countryman, and Hackett sped through the pool in an eye-popping 6:39.14 to close the evening with a win and Eastern record in the 800-yd. freestyle relay.