The Radcliffe swim team will enter the first leg of the Eastern Colleges Association Championships when it travels to Brown for the New England regional this weekend.

The Radcliffe squad suffered one loss early this season against Mt. Holyoke. Since then, the swimmers have registered a series of slim victories over Maine, Brown, B.U. and B.C. Today all these teams will congregate in Providence.

Victory?

Whether the freestyle relay can snatch yet another victory in the closing laps of the meet will depend on how well the team can compensate for the absences of tri-captain Nancy Sato and junior Kyle Patterson, Coach Alice McCabe said yesterday.

Sato injured her arm two weeks ago and will not swim at all today. Instead she will focus on the two diving events. Patterson will be in Minnesota for the weekend to chair a National Council of Indian Students' meeting.

In addition, tri-captain Kris Krendl is still plagued by a back injury and is not sure whether she will compete in the meet.

Hopes on Frosh

Radcliffe's hopes are banked on their strong freshman lineup. Laurie Downey, a consistent standout all season, will compete in the 100-yd, butterfly, the two relays and the 200-yd freestyle. Breaststrokers Carol Moore and Diana Borden and diver Pam Jackson will round out the freshman effort in the meet.

In addition, Coach McCabe stressed sophomore Susan Sawyer's importance in the butterfly events. "Susan's improvement has been tremendous. She will be a great factor in both relays," she said.