University of Virginia Library

Crush VPI And VCU

Swimmers Double Swamp State Foes

By BILL BERNO

Preparing for their big meet
against Maryland, the Cavalier
tankers easily outstroked VPI
and VCU in a double-dual meet
Tuesday night.

Somewhat of a surprise was
the appearance of the Tech
swimmers, because their coach
had not informed Cav coach
Ron Good on whether or not
he was bringing his team.

Nevertheless, both squads
were quickly sunk by the
Cavaliers. VPI fell by the score
of 85-28, and VCU did slightly
better, scoring 34 points versus
the 79 Virginia points.

Mr. Good's crew won every
swimming event except the
200 breaststroke, in which Al
Ettenger was outtouched by
Ed Hunter of VCU. Hunter
turned a 2:22.5 and Ettenger
was clocked in 2:23.2.

Once again, the Cavaliers
were crushed in diving. Since
losing their top diver, Foster
Smith, the Cavs have done no
better than third in any diving
event.

Since the scoring for diving
is five points for first, three
points for second, and only
one point for third, the
Cavaliers have spotted the
opposition seven points in both
diving events since Smith

dropped out of school last
month.

Speaking on Tuesday's
meet, Mr. Good said, "It was a
pretty good meet. We learned a
lot of things. Our
breaststrokers appeared to be
tired. We'll back off on them a
bit. Our sprinters are coming
along real well, and we're
rounding out pretty well."

Mr. Good has been putting
his swimmers through grueling
workouts since the middle of
December, but with the ACC
meet only three weeks away
the tankers will begin to taper
off and rest up for the
conference championship.

There are two reasons that
the swimmers would like to do
well in the ACC meet. First, it
will be the last chance for the
tankers to beat the NCAA
Championship qualifying times
and earn a trip to the Nationals
in Knoxville, Tenn. Secondly,
the meet will bring attention to
the new U-Hall natatorium, a
facility in which Mr. Good and
his swimmers justifiably take
great pride. A strong showing
by the Cavs would elevate the
University to an esteemed
position in ACC swimming.

Seek Ninth Win

Pointing for the Terps since
the win over West Virginia, the
tankers will try for their ninth
win against only two defeats.
One of the defeats came at the
hands of national power N.C.
State.

"We'll work right through
the State Meet, probably doing
a short workout each day in
the morning," remarked Mr.
Good. The team will be
pointing for the ACC
championships.

Although the long-range
objective for the team is a good
ACC performance, the
immediate goal is to beat
Maryland Saturday afternoon.
The Terps and UNC are the
obstacles between the Cavaliers
and a second-place finish in the
conference meet.

Despite the loss of 14
points in the two diving events,
Mr. Good thinks that his squad
might be able to outswim the
Terps and win the meet.
Speaking about the meet, he
commented, "Every event is
going to be a tough event. No
one underestimates us
anymore, so they'll be ready
for us. It'll be a hell of a
meet."

The meet will begin at 3:00
Saturday, and Mr. Good hopes
that some of the crowd leaving
the Wake Forest basketball
game will stop by to cheer on
his swimmers.

"They have really fine
seniors, about five real studs,"
remarked Mr. Good. The Cavs
will counter with a young
team. Only Ettenger and
backstroker Gerry Rollins are
in their final year at the
University.

The Cavs will count on
strong performances from
Mark Bernardino, and vastly
improved Frans deJong.
DeJong had season-best times
Tuesday night, winning the 50
freestyle in a scool record 22.7
and leading off the free relay in
49.7 for his 100-yard leg.

Bernardino Stars

Bernardino has been the
clutch performer for the team
all season. Against VCU and
VPI, Bernardino won the 200
butterfly in 2:02.3 and the 200
freestyle in 1:50.9.

Lurking in the background
but always capable of a great
effort is first-year freestyler
Scott Balderston. Balderston
has gone 49.2 in the 100 free
and 1:48.6 in the 200
freestyle.

Rollins Disqualified

Co-Captain Rollins will have
to be careful when he swims
the 200 backstroke. Tuesday
night when Rollins won his
event, he was disqualified for
his unusual turns. The Cavs will
be counting on Rollins for
plenty of points Saturday.