Harvard's Varsity mermen rolled up one of their most impressive victories in three years when they submerged Brown 62 to 13 in the Holyoke Street pool Wednesday night. Captain Frannie Powers set the pace for the Ulenmen with a brilliant 2:15.5 effort in the 220 and a sparkling 53.4 victory in the century, making it the best night of his career.
Needless to say, Powers annexed the 220 by a country mile in addition to the clean-cut victory over favored Bob Schaper of Brown in the 100. The only fly in the ointment as far as Power's performance was concerned was that George "Diesel" Gibbons was sick and unable to swim. It was Gibbons who nipped Powers in an exciting 440 two years ago to give the Bruins their only tank win over Harvard, and last year the same Mr. Gibbons decisioned Powers in another close quarter mile race.
Powers Well Trained
The Crimson leader was ready for the battle of his life on Wednesday and by any conceivable system of comparative times would have left the Bruin co-captain trailing far in his wake. Powers actually leafed during the last leg of the 220; he could have clipped a second or two from the 2:15.5 time.
Powers was the standout, but there were plenty of other Harvard stars in the near whitewash triumph. Ted McNitt and Lonnie Stowell combined with Captain Powers to shove highly touted Sherb Carter out in the cold with a pair of fourths in the sprints. McNitt, a House swimmer last year, has improved by leaps and bounds and did very close to 24.2 Wednesday. Lonnie Stowell, with a shaky turn and start, was close on McNitt's heels in the 50 and got another third in the 100.
Shaw McCutcheon was the class of the field in the dive with a 105 total, and Brad Patterson's 91.2 second place rating was another improved performance. Bill Drucker did a fast 100 leg in the medley and coasted in to an easy win in the 150 backstroke, with Dick Harris second.
In the other specialty event, the breast-stroke, Bob "Diesel" White edged Roger Willcox in 2:43. The Crimson entrants were not pushed, but they can still stand a good bit of improvement before the important League meets. Max Kraus did a good butterfly leg in the medley.
Ailing Bus Curwen was better than expected with a 5:07 440 and an easy second in the 220. The absolute dearth of talent on the visiting squad (with the exception, of course, of Schaper, Carter, and Gibbons) was clearly demonstrated in the relay. The Harvard quartet of Bob Sceery, Tom Shrewsbury, Dave Stearns, and Bill Jay had things all to themselves in 3:52.3. They won by about 25 yards.
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