NEW YORK--Bolstered by the strong performances of several freshmen, the Harvard men's swimming team extended its winning streak to 23 here Saturday, humbling Columbia, 80-33, in the Eastern League opener for both schools.

But the score does not fully reflect Harvard's control of the meet, as the Crimson led, 39-4, at one point and opted not to run up the score by swimming its strongest lineup in the second half.

David Lundberg and Larry Countryman, two highly sought-after recruits, led the romp, scoring 18 points between them.

Lundberg proved he is the answer to the Crimson's breaststroke woes of a year ago.

In the individual medley he pulled away from the field during that leg on the way to winning the event, and later returned to take the 200 breaststroke in 2:09.03--less than a second off the University record. Lundberg's 58.4 split on the medley relay is the fastest recorded by a Harvard breaststroker in three years.

Although Countryman did not officially win any events, he finished second behind Bobby Hackett in the 1000-yd. freestyle and narrowly trailed Columbia's Pete Scaturro in the 100 free. Two events after the 100, the Yardling from Newark, Del., stormed from behind to capture the 500-yd. freestyle, but was not credited with a victory because he was entered in the event as an exhibition contestant. Countryman's times in the 1000 and the 500 (9:29 and 4:37) earned him the third and fourth positions, respectively, on Harvard's all-time best performances list.

Lundberg was particularly pleased with Saturday's results, saying, "I was pretty nervous coming into the meet and wasn't sure what to expect. I'm really happy with the way things turned out." He acknowledged that college swimming, because of the team concept, is "based a lot more on psyche" than AAU competition.

After taking the medley relay by half a pool length, the Crimson swept the first four individual events. It was not until the one-meter diving that Columbia recorded its first victory, when Lion springboard ace Mike Gurnee edged the Crimson's Steve Schramm.

Both scores (293.20 and 291.70) met the entry standards for participation in the NCAA qualifying meet in March. Each man needs to break the 290 barrier again during the dual season to qualify, but this seems likely since each will have at least ten more opportunities to do so.

"It is a real credit to both of them that they should score so high in the first meet of the year," Harvard diving coach John Walker said afterwards.

Swimming veterans Jack Gauthier, Geoff Seelen, Ron Raikula and Tim Maximoff all contributed individual victories to the Crimson cause.

Normally a backstroker, Seelen was called upon to help the team's relative weakness in the freestyle sprints (particularly the 50) and responded to the challenge by nipping teammate Jim Carbone and Columbia's Scaturoo in the two-lap event.

Raikula continued his domination of the 200 backstroke, finishing four seconds ahead of his nearest competition to remain undefeated in his collegiate career.

Gauthier led the sweep of the 200 freestyle, while Maximoff was the official victor in the 500.

Freshman Ted Chappell emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the 1000 and 500. His times (9:33 and 4:40.23) place him among Harvard's best ten ever in the distance events.

More than anything, the meet was a showcase for Harvard's aquatic power. The Crimson grabbed nine of 13 events and could have held Columbia's point total under 25. Considering that the devastated Lions finished sixth at last year's Easterns, the future hardly looks bright for the Crimson's East Coast rivals.

CRIMSON SPLASHES: The new Columbia pool stands as a monument to the ineptitude of the architects and construction firms that plan and build aquatic facilities. The Lions' home was built without any ventilation system whatsoever, creating a sauna atmosphere which, combined with the excess chlorine in the pool, made it very difficult for the swimmers to breathe.

Princeton sent its scouts to Morningside Heights Saturday to check out the Crimson squad. They, too, were quite impressed.

Harvard 80, Columbia 33

400-yd. Medley Relay--1. Harvard (Ron Ralkula, David Lundberg, Jack Gauthier, Jim Carbone) 3:32.30; 1000-yd. freestyle--1. Bobby Hackett (H) 9:15.77, 2. Larry Countryman (H) 9:29.80, 3. T. Corbisiero (C) 9:38.41; 200-yd. freestyle--1. Jack Gauthier (H) 1:43.34, 2. Mike Coglin (H) 1:43.89, 3. G. Peters (C) 1:44.34; 50-yd. freestyle--1. Geoff Seelen (H) 22.09, 2. Carbone (H) 22.13, 3. P. Scaturro (C) 22.4; 200-yd. individual medley--1. Lundberg (H) 1:56.18, 2. Time Maximoff (H) 1:59.30, 3. M. Pare (C) 2:02.29; One-meter diving-- 1. M. Gurnee (C) 293.20, 2. Steve Schramm (H) 291.70, 3. P. Opperman (C) 268.00; 200-yd. Butterfly--1. E. Wiscavage (C) 1:55.84, 2. Campari Knoepffler (H) 1:57.56, 3. Andy Lockman (H) 1:57.75; 100 freestyle-- 1. P. Scaturro (C) 48.57, 2. Countryman (H) 49.31, 3. Rick Kirk (H) 49.97; 200 backstone-- 1. Ron Ralkula (H) 1:56.46, 2. Seelen (H) 2:00.73, 3. D. Zielinsky 2:05.02; 500 freestyle-- 1. Maximoff (H) 4:38.70, 2. Corbisiero (C) 4:38.89, 3. Ted Chappell (H) 4:40.39; Three-meter diving-- 1. Gurnee (C) 305.10, 2. Schramm (H) 303.00, 3. Opperman (C) 254.50; 200 breakstroke-- 1. Lundberg (H) 2:09.03, 2. Milton (C) 2:16.90, 3. Pat Jakobsen (H) 2:17.92; 400 freestyle relay-- 1. Harvard (Hackett, Coglin, Chappell, Dan Menichella) 3:13.91