Division II Nationals SWIMMING, DIVING : Kubiak Churns CSUN to 15-Point Lead in Nationals

A one-two finish by Jeff Kubiak and Reed Gershwind in the 200-yard individual medley Wednesday propelled the Cal State Northridge men’s swimming team to a 15-point first-day lead at the NCAA Division II men’s and women’s swimming and diving championships.

After the first day of the four-day meet it was already a two-team battle, with CSUN holding a 99-84 lead over Cal State Bakersfield. Oakland (Mich.) University is a distant third, with 44 points.

The CSUN women finished the first day of competition in second place with 82.5 points. University of South Florida has 122.

Cal State Northridge Coach Pete Accardy said he was pleased with the performances of both the men’s and the women’s teams.

“Obviously the men got off to a quicker start than the women, but we are hoping that at the end of the second day, both will be in contention,” he said. “The last two days of the meet should be our strongest.”

Accardy’s optimism is based on his expectations for the men’s one-meter and three-meter diving competition, which will be held Friday and Saturday. The CSUN men’s team has tremendous strength in both events, while Bakersfield has not entered either.

Bakersfield easily beat Northridge in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. meet last month, but Bakersfield swimmers had peaked and shaved--gaining a physical and psychological edge--for that meet. Northridge men had not.

CSUN men shaved for the nationals, however, and several turned in sterling performances.

Kubiak, a sophomore who was seeded sixth with a time of 1:56.4 entering the competition, turned in a blazing 1:52.44, barely missing the meet record 1:52.39 set last year by Tracy Huth, of Oakland University.

Kubiak had to swim well to outlast teammate Gershwind, a junior, who was clocked in 1:52.8.

Other impressive swims posted by the CSUN team included a second-place 4:31.32 by junior Doug Burchell in the 500-yard freestyle, and a fourth-place 4:33.84 in the 500 by freshman Jon Carpadakis.

Next to the 200 individual medley, the 500 freestyle was CSUN’s best event. Freshman Mike Rossie finished seventh, with a clocking of 4:36.04.

The best finish by a member of the Northridge women’s team was a second-place 4:55.77 by senior Michele Hampton in the 500-yard freestyle. Senior Tracy McCluskey finished sixth in the same event, in 5:00.25. Suzanne Crenshaw, a freshman out of South Florida, won the event in 4:54.92.

Another top event for CSUN women was one-meter diving. Three Lady Matadors placed in the top nine: Sophomore Marion Gelhaus finished third, freshman Sherie McMahon was fifth and junior Harmony Lawrence finished ninth. The winner was Lisa Goodman, a senior at Northern Michigan.

The best swim of the meet’s first day was turned in by Richard Ford, a freshman at Cal State Bakersfield. He shattered the old meet record of 4:29.12 in the 500-yard freestyle by swimming a 4:26.43.