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Classic Bear Recap: Morgan Swimmers Edge S.C. State for MEAC Title

Courtesy of Morgan State Athletic Communications


The medical crisis impacting the nation and the world has caused sports across the globe to come to a standstill for the time being. For example, the Olympics scheduled for the summer of 2020 in Japan has been postponed until 2021.
 
While we wait on the sports world to get back on track, this is a good time to revisit the illustrious past of Morgan Athletics. Over the next few weeks we will tap into the archives for historic game recaps and stories.
 
Here's what was reported on March 14, 1972:

Morgan Swimmers Edge S.C. State for MEAC title
Baltimore Afro-American

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Morgan State College captured the first annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) swimming and diving championships held here at Howard University, edging pre-meet favorite South Carolina State 157-149.
 
Howard University, the host school to the maiden championship caliber competition of the MEAC, in its first season of operation, was a distant third with 65 points, followed by Delaware State with 33 and North Carolina Central with 30.
 
For James Mack's Bear swimmers, Eddie Cooper and Allen Baker, both Baltimore, Md. freshmen, were the stars of an impressive team victory over a celebrated South Carolina State team which had beaten the Bears twice in regular season swimming competition. Cooper won the 200-yard butterfly in 2:34.8 and the 100 butterfly in 1:05, edging his teammate Paul Sweet, who finished in 1:10.
 
72meacchip
1971-72 MEAC TITLISTS – Left to right (seated): Mike Dixon, Leroy Cox, Dave Thomas, Aubrey Knox, Graylin Cobbs, Keith Smith, Abbas Mirhafovri;
(standing) – Allen Baker, Kenny Cloud, Ed Cooper, Wayne Mitchell, Donald Gray, Thomas Soltes, Paul Sweet, Keith McHugh, Melvin Bundy and coach James Mack.

Baker, who earlier was upended in the 100-yard backstroke by South Carolina State's Dave Thomas, bounced back to win the 200-yard backstroke, besting Thomas with a winning time of 2:24. He also anchored the Bears to victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay, being clocked in 9:28.
 
South Carolina State took a total of 15 first-place medals to just four for Morgan, but Mack's Men piled up points by sweeping runner-up shots. In both the 200-yard freestyle and the 1650 yard freestyle, the Bears grabbed four places – finishing 2-3-5-6 in the 1650.
 
Brooks-Jones-Mack Natatorium
The Brooks-Jones-Mack Natatorium at Morgan State University 

While winning the first MEAC swim title, the Bears had won the CIAA swimming and diving title for the last three years against virtually the same opposition, except for the strong South Carolina unit. 
 
71 twin chip
Coach James Mack (third row, far right) with
MSU's 1970-71 CIAA Championship Swimming and Diving Team

Bear Notes:
? Morgan State won nine competitive swimming and diving championships and a host of individual awards during the 24-year run of the program. 
? Thirteen swimmers have been inducted into Morgan's Hall of Fame.
? Budget cuts forced Morgan to drop its swim teams in the mid-'70s.
? The last golden era at Morgan occurred under the leadership of James Franklin Mack, from 1971 to 1976, when the Bears won the 1971 CIAA championship and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships of 1972 through 1975.
 
1955 swim champs
Coach Stewart A. Brooks (front row, center) with MSU's 1955 CIAA Champion Swimming and Diving Team