Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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TJERHAPS the most disappointing season - - in the annals of Manhattan ' s swimming history took place in the 19-47-48 campaign. Hampered by a woeful lack of reserves, the squad went dow n to defeat seven times while winning twice. John Podorski, coach of the 1946-47 mermen, resigned before the start of the season after a successful one year tenure. Appointed to succeed Podorski was John Sich, formerly coach of swimming at the Royal Hungarian School of Physical Edu- cation in Budapest. With several letter-men expected back from the year previous, another winning sea- son was anticipated. But then came the bad news that Harry Coyle, captain-elect and ace backstroker, could not compete because of an operation which had sapped his strength. John Boyce, another eteran natator, also announced that he would be una ' ailable be- 26=)

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Swimming 1947-48 Coach JOHN SICH Captain JOHN FRUIN Manager DAN PETIX •r 264

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cause of a heavy scholastic schedule. With these two key men missing along with sev- eral others, the Sichmen opened their nine meet season with a smaller-than-ten man squad when at least twice that number of operatives are needed for a successful cam- paign. Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute pro ided the opposition for the initial meet of the season, and they won by a 45-30 count. Jack Fruin. the newly-elected captain of the mermen and strong man of the squad all year, turned in the first of his Herculean efforts by winning the 100 and 440 yard freestyle events. In addition, Jack swam a strong leg on the 400 yard relay. Other Jasper victors were Ronald Corbalis in the 220 yard freestyle and Harry Zurmuhlen in the 50 yard freestyle. This meet was one in which any reserve strength whatever could have turned the tide of vic- tory. City College ' s swimmers were next in line and disastrous results followed m the form of a 58-13 pasting. The Lavender forces over- whelmed the Green and White in every event. Ray Radzivilla ' s second in the 220 yard breast stroke being the closest Manhat- tan could get ti) the finish line. Traveling to South Orange, New Jersey, where they encountered Seton Hall, the Sich- men found that their dearth of reserve talent was again too great an obstacle to hurdle. Only the 400 yard freestyle relay came through to trmmph as the Kelly Green dropped another meet 38-28. NYU ' s Violets then took the ' Jasper ' s meas- ure by a 53-22 final tabulation. Fruin won the 440 freestyle in 5:46.4 while RadziviUa also came through in the 200-yard breast stroke in 2:56.4. This fourth defeat of the season came as no surprise since NYU was the Metropolitan Intercollegiate champion. The University of Scranton paid a visit to the Manhattan pool and inflicted a 43-32 defeat on the discouraged Green. It was at this time of the season that the fortunes of the Jasper mermen took a change for the better. The Fordham Rams were surprisingly up- set by the five-times beaten Green and White tankers, 42-33. Chief reason for the victory can be traced to the return of Coyle and Zurmuhlen for this one meet. Winners for the home forces were Fruin in the 200 and 440 yard freestyles; RadziviUa in the 200 yard breast stroke; and Pete Magee and Hector Faberle in the dive. Coyle and Zur- muhlen helped the 300 yard medley and 400 yard relays win for the first time all year. Clearly one of the high spots of the season, the Fordham upset shows that quality, if not quantity, was present on the Jasper squad. Refreshed by their first victory, the mer- men came up against the Kings Point Mar- iners who never were expected to be as strong as they proved to be. Their 55-20 lacing of the Green was the sixth defeat of the season. Another New Jersey college was then op- posed and the St. Peter ' s crew from Jersey City handed the men from Manhattan a 35-31 loss in what proved to be a close meet. Winding up their regular season by a jaunt to the vicinity of Bridgeport (Conn.), the Riverdalers won their second victory by vir- tue of a 40-26 tally. 266