WEST POINT, N.Y.--It want's done in overwhelming style. They only came away with a single individual championship. But during on bottomless depth, the Harvard men's swim team came up with a huge lead yesterday in the Eastern Seaboard Swimming championships.

With 10 swimmers placing in the finds for the first five events, the aquamen collected 223 points in the meet's opening day. La Salle College is hanging on at second with 108, followed by Princeton with 84 and Yale with 66.

Coming into the confrontation undefeated, untested, and the reigning eastern champs, the Crimson started the day slowly, with solid but unspectacular swims pushing it to the top of the 26 team pack. But in the final race--the 400 medley relay--the swimmers matched their point-total with some real momentum.

With the rest of the team screaming, whistling, and raising all kinds of heck in Army's Olympic Natatorium, sophomore Dave Phillips, junior Jim Carbone, and sophomores Tony Meier and Mike Miao churned to touch first in 3:24.15.

Blaming the aquamen's winning but less-than-best performance yesterday on the psychological effect of being "unbelievable favorites." Coach Joe Bernal said the medley relay showed his charges had turned things around for the final two days of the competition.

Freshman Dan Watson grabbed the only individual win yesterday, taking the one meter diving with 468.5 points, out bouncing junior Jeff Mule's 451.35 point score. Sophomore Carl Illig placed sixth followed by freshman Steve Feyerick in seventh.

A little disappointed with his performance the Ashland. Ky. native said, "I'd cry but I'm too old," adding that "as along as we went one-two, it's day."

In the first race of the day--the 500 free--Columbia's Tony Corbisiero went out hard and fast to best junior captain Ted Chappell--last year's winner in the event--with an Eastern record 4:22.97 time. Sophomore Courtney Roberts took fourth in the race.

"He [Corbisiero] swam a good smart race," Chappell said, adding. "He knew that if we were together at 300 I had more speed."

Freshman Dave Barnes ground out a personal best of 1:51.87 to take second in the 200 individual medley. Ducting Princeton's Mike Smith down to the finish, the Yardling came up 82 second short. Junior Tom Verdin, runner-up a year ago, copped third in 1:52.18.

"I was a little too pumped." Because said I just bottomed out at the end."

In the 50 free, a slow touch by Miao dropped him to fourth with a 21.02 clocking. LaSalle's Paul Jarvis won the sprint in :20.73.

With 16 places scored, the aquamen are well ahead of the 162 points they tallied on the first day at Dartmouth last year. That's bad news for Assistant Coach Ken Oberg, who has promised to shed his golden locks if Harvard breaks by 20 points the scoring record of 583 point they set is Hanover.

Men's Swimming, Olympic Natatorium West Point, N.Y.

500 freestyle--1. Corbisievo (Columbia) 4:22.97, 2. Chappell (Harvard). 3. Ferrer (Towns. St.): 200 individual medley--1. Smith (Pr.) 1:51.25, 2. Barnes (Harvard), 3. Verdin (Harvard): one-meter diving--1. Walson (Harvard), 2. Mule (Harvard), 3. Graham (B.U.): 50 freestyle--1. Jarvis (LaSalle) :20.73 2. Warrender (LaSalle), 3. Murphy (Navy): 400 medley relay--1. Harvard 3:24.16 2. Yale, 3. Princeton.

Point totals--top six: 1. Harvard (228), 2. LaSalle (108). 3. Princeton (84), 4. Yale (66), 5. Brown (65), 6. Columbia (62). credits

Women's Swimming, Blodgett Pool

200 medley relay--1. Brown 1:50.10, 2. Boston University, 3. Princeton; 500 freestyle--1. Heon (Pitt) 4:57.9, 2. Caskey (Princeton), 3. Calver (Harvard); 50 yard breaststroke--1. Mayer (BU) 32:07, 2. Woolfolk (Brown), 3. Torney (Brown); 100 yard butterfly--1. Jackson (Pitt.) 55:69, 2. Lind (Princeton), 3. Vietz (Yale); 200 yard indiv. medley--1 Ujerich (Pitt.) 2:07.33, 2. Zimic (Harvard), 3. Heon (Pitt.); 200 yard backstroke--1. Simon (Yale) 2:03.84, 2. Plamer (Brown), 3. Chun (Princeton); one-meter diving--1. Ciark (Penn. St.), 2. Goldberg (Harvard), 3. Moses (Princeton); 200 yard freestyle relay--1. Princeton 7:40.49, 2. Yale, 3. Harvard.

Points total--top six: 1. Princeton (235), 2. Pitt. (215), 3. Penn St. (211), 4. Harvard (189), 5. Brown (153), 6. Yale (76).