Because Saturday night brought defeat to Hal Ulen's swimmers at the hands of a few capable lads from New Jersey, Hal's "war aims" now appear to be altered.

Up to the contest with the Tigers, the muscular Crimson mentor had gone on record as saying that for him, at least, the season would be a successful one if his team could take Princeton. Now, however, he is going to have to revise that opinion. His 1940 record has been marred, of course, so the feeling around the pool is that the boys will have to make an extra good showing against Yale and in the League championships if their prestige is to be salvaged.

Superior Yale Sophs

Perhaps the attitude toward this year's Yale team needs explaining. The Eli Class of 1942 boasts the strongest crop of swimmers ever to enter Yale in one year. With them on the New Haven squad are the '41 men who two years ago defeated our '41 tankmen and a handful of topnotchers from the '40 delegation. Together, the three groups combine into what is probably the best tank team in the nation, even though it was defeated early in the season by Michigan.

Swimmers have to be realists in the matter of pre-game hopes for victory, since most men's performances can be predicted if their previous times are studied. Because the clockings of the Yalemen have been consistently superior to most Harvard efforts, Captain Cutler and his team can hardly entertain many hopes of defeating Russ Duncan and his mates, but they will derive a certain satisfaction from scoring as many points as possible, and even in pushing the Blue mermen to new records.

Bulldogs Strong in Numbers

It seems likely that these are to be their only satisfactions, for not only does Yale lay claim to stars of the calibre of Howle Johnson, all-around free-styler, and Jim Cook, outstanding diver, but in some events the Elis can produce stars two or three deep. Harvard's breastrokers have not, up to now, been able to surpass 2:32 even in practice, yet Yale has Meyer, Gesner, and Metcalfe who are below that mark. Her divers, Cook and Munding, are consistently scoring well above George Dana's all-time best point total.

Coach Bob Kiphuth can point to four 100-yard sprinters who together broke the world's record for the 400 relay, to a pair of 50 men better than our best, to two backstrokers as good as and better than Art Bosworth. Still, on Saturday Rick Cutler swam his best 220, Bosworth his best dorsal 150, and George Dana chalked up his best total this year. And Jim Curwen showed that he is back to his Sophomore year All-American team form, in spite of one unlucky turn.

Our National Standing

As a matter of fact, behind Yale, Michigan, Ohio State, and Princeton, Harvard ranks fifth best in the nation, a standing equalled by no other Crimson team except, recently, crew. Even the oarsmen have not been ranked among the country's five best for five years as have the swimmers. With these things in mind Hal Ulen's boys will be training furiously this week and next, determined that the Kiphuth kids will really have to huff and puff for a while when, next Tuesday evening, the Crimson tankmen journey to the Payne Whitney Gymnasium's Exhibition Pool.