WILL BE STRONG

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31539, 29 November 1967, Page 15

WILL BE STRONG

TVHEN the touring Australian Universities’ swimming and water polo team meets the New Zealand Universities’ team in each of the two tests in January it can be sure that its opposition will be as strong as, if not stronger than the successful 1966 N.Z.U. team. Although the composition of the team will not be known until next month, nominations for the N.Z.U. team indicate exceptional strength in freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke and medley. Heading the list is the Olympic and Commonwealth Games representative, D. F. Gerrard, who was at university earlier this year and who is at present swimming in Ashburton. His fellow butterfly swimmer, K. Stevens, who was third over 110 yd at the national cham-

pionships earlier thia year, is also a nominee. The breaststroke swimmers, I. M. Johnstone and G. V. Ruzio-Saban, are almost assured of places in the team. Johnstone competed at the World University Games in Tokyo in August, and Ruzio-Saban was awarded a N.Z.U. Blue for his excellent swims at the 1967 Easter tournament

The most notable of the freestyle nominations are those of R. D. Walker and G. Dempsey. Walker holds the New Zealand records for the 110 yd, 220 yd, 440 yd, 880 yd and 1650 yd freestyle, and Dempsey is a New Zealand surfing representative and the national three-mile champion.

The selectors, Mrs B. Fitzsimmons and Mr R. Robbins, both of Wellington, must select a team of 12 men and six women, and one of the problems they will face is to select sufficient water polo players on which to base a water polo team. This team will then be completed by those swimmers who are capable players.

Water polo players nominated solely as such include C. J. L. Newth, a Waikato and Otago representative: A Trotter, the New Zealand Colt* goalkeeper; B. G.

Spear, a former N.Z.U. goalkeeper; I. L. Gunthorp, the present Canterbury captain; and D. Kirkpatrick, an Otago and N.Z.U. representative. Among those swimmers playing water polo, K. B. Thornton (backstroke) and P. Smith (freestyle) stand out, but Gerrard is also a capable player. The women’s nominations do not present such a formidable picture, but the former New Zealand freestyle title-holder. Miss S. Woonton. is an obvious selection.