There is a saying among swimming types concerning championship meets: "Winning takes place in the morning trials, not the evening finals."

Never was this more true than during the first day of the women's Eastern Swimming and Diving Championships yesterday at Blodgett Pool.

At Eastern trials, you have to place in the top eight to qualify for the championship final in an event. Similarly, spots in the consolation final go to finishers 9 through 16 of the morning.

But here's the catch: every swimmer in the final heat scores more points than the top swimmer in the consolation final, no matter what the times in the evening. The key to winning Easterns is to place as many of your swimmers into the top 16, preferably the top eight. Nobody else can earn points.

Of course, every swimmer knows this, which makes the morning competition fierce. Only the most talented can take it easy in trials, saving energy for that evening's championship races.

And some who try get burned. Take the case of Brown University yesterday. First, Jenny Norton, the defending champion in the 500-yd. freestyle, finished her morning swim in a time of 5:01. Last year, that trial swim would have placed her fourth overall, in fine position to defend her title.

But this year, 5:01 was good enough for the 11th seed time and a one-way ticket to the consols. Instead of 20 points, Norton earned two with her 15th-place showing.

Similarly, Brown snagged the title in the 1987 version of the 800 freestyle relay. Trying to rest its top swimmers for last night's final, the Bruins got burned again. Ninth place. Consolation finals. Their final time would have placed them sixth in the championship heat, but all Brown has to show for it is personal satisfaction.

Looking at the results, the accuracy of the "Win in the morning" statement becomes evident. Take the Crimson: two relays in finals, eight individual finalists, five consolation finalists. 208 points after day one and first place.

Steering

Penn State achieved similar success. Two relays and five individuals in the finals, six in the consols. 191 points and second place overall.

But three-time defending Eastern champ Brown had a problem. One relay in finals, one swimming for consolation. Four individual finalists and three consolation finalists. Good for a fourth-place total of 111 points. This is a team that earned over 800 points in each of the last three Eastern meets.

The Crimson and the Nittany Lions have a big battle in front of them today and tommorow. Times will be fast and records should fall. Every evening, different swimmers will step up to shine in glory.

But the team championship will not earn that spotlight. To clinch first place there, a squad must rise with the sun and nail down times in the trial heats. Because, at this Women's Easterns, it's the early bird that gets the title.