PRINCETON, N.J.--The competitors in the opening stanza of the Ivy League Women's Swimming Championships set meet records in every one of the seven swimming events contested last night in Princeton's Dillon Pool, but Crimson swimmers managed only one of those records en route to a third place standing with over two thirds of the competition remaining.

With 151.5 points the aquawomen are in third place behind the heavily favored Princeton Tigers, who racked up an awesome 275.5 points, and Brown, a team which Harvard upset earlier in the season, with 163 Yale is in fourth place with 135 points.

Should the Crimson remain in third place, something which Coach Stephanie Walsh and her charges will not eagerly concede, its finish would still be the Crimson's best in a decade of Ivy League championship competition. No Harvard squad has ever finished higher than fourth in the post-season meet.

In spite of the third place standing, several bright spots shone for the harvard team, especially Norma Barton's and Kathleen McCloskey's 1-2 finish in the 100 yard butterfly, as well as Pam Stone's and Adriana Holy's surprising 1-3 finish in the 1 meter diving competition.

Also noteworthy were Janie Smith's second place finish in the 200 yard individual medley, which she earned with a stellar 2:12:07, and Maureen Gildea's third in the 500 free gained with an at best mediocre 5:08.00.

Barton, who was at about the halfway point of her 100 fly victory when the meet announcer prompted a terrific ovation by announcing a United States 4-3 hockey victory over the Soviet Union, said she felt "The piano falling on her back." (that's a swimming expression) with five yards left in the race, but won it anyway in 58.65.

The real key to the Crimson's third place standing were the excellent performances of civers Stone and Holy. Coach John Walker, whose divers stood no higher than second and fourth place with only three dives remaining, said after the results were announced, "I still don't believe it."

He explained that Stone's victory came in spite of "a major faux pax on her last dive," although he added that Holy's reverse dive "was the best dive of the entire finals."