Meet the women in the Rapp family--Betsy, a junior at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is the women's swim team captain and has been nationally and internationally ranked in the 100- and 200-butterfly distances since she first rose to prominence in 1975. Jenny, a top-flight individual medleyist and backstroker, is Stanford-bound this fall; she is one of four woman swimmers who have accepted Stanford's offer of a full, four-year scholarship. And Susan, at 15, has recently rocketed to world fame in the 100- and 200-meter breast-strokes--finishing a close third place to Tracy Caulkins and Terri Baxter in both contests at last summer's AAU Nationals.

But wait--that's not all. Thirteen-year-old Krissie has sprinted to times that are faster than any of her older sisters at their comparable stages of swimming development, and Mama Rapp--not content to rest after her own successful swimming career--is now ranked as one of the finest, if not the finest, over-40 Masters runners in the country.

It is no surprise that the family's awesome talent and phenomenal successes have attracted hordes of journalists to their Alexandria, Va., home, in the hopes of discovering the root of the Rapp's athletic prowess, as well as some sensational tidbits about, say, sibling rivalry. Washington Post reporters even went to the lengths of asking to move in for a few days so that they could observe the family in depth.

All of this unwanted publicity has prompted the Rapps' father to set down certain guidelines about interviews in an effort to maintain normal family ties--"My father has asked us not to talk about the family," was the preface offered by all three girls, and Jenny elaborated, "My parents don't want us to get swelled heads."

Swelled heads are certainly one feature the Rapp family lacks, however. Former coach of their Starlit Aquatic Club team and present Stanford women's coach Holger Dietz says, "The Rapps are perfect role models for young swimmers. I can point them out as being people with the right approach and attitude towards swimming and never be afraid of being wrong.

"The family has stressed keeping swimming in perspective, and as a result all the Rapps have become the epitome of humility and modesty," Dietz adds.

Blessed with ideal swimming physiques--long, graceful limbs and large feet and hands--as well as a healthy dose of raw talent, the Rapps took rather naturally to the water at an early age and quickly met with successes.

"Jenny was the first one to start swimming at West Point when she was seven--she always could cream me," Betsy recalls. "I remember someone taught her butterfly in warm-up and then she won the race. She also broke the PVAAU age-group for 100-fly the first time she swam it."

From West Point, the Rapps moved to Virginia where they joined Starlit--a tedious 40-minute commute. Betsy began to train seriously with the A1 group at 11 while Jenny--hampered by her thinness--often had to sit out on deck shivering between sets, wrapped in three large towels.

Betsy was the first to take flight into stardom, making her first Nationals in 1975 in the 100 fly. By the next summer she had dropped enough time to take 8th place in the same event, and then she went on to cop fourth place in the 200-meter fly a month later at the Olympic Trials.

"I was stunned that I had done so well," Betsy remembers. "I was only 15 and everything was going so fast."

She continued to improve, garnering spots on United States squads to places like France, Argentina, and in 1978, to the World Games in Berlin--the same year that Jenny made her first Nationals.

Commenting on her own swimming ascension. Jenny says, "We always thought that there was something wrong with us if we didn't make Nationals because you'd see your sister make it, and then just automatically assume you would too."

At first excelling in the 100-fly, Jenny gradually branched out into the 200- and 400-IMs. and now she prefers backstroke to the other four strokes. "I guess I just change strokes whenever I hit a plateau," she laughs.

Alan Caldwell, Starlit's present head coach, and Dietz both single Jenny out as being the most intense sister, and the one who hates to lose the most. "Her dedication is incredible--of all the men and women on our senior team, Jenny ranks in the top four in attendance," Caldwell says.