Columbia's Christina Teuscher was a 1996 gold medalist in Atlanta. Olympic-level swimming talent will be on display at Sheerr Pool tomorrow evening when the Quakers host Columbia at 6 p.m. This will be Penn's last home meet before the Ivy Championships and Eastern Invitationals. "When you swim against someone like a Christina Teuscher you just have to watch them and try to learn as much as you can," co-captain Lauren Hibbert said. "She is easily the best swimmer in the Ivy League." Teuscher, a Columbia sophomore, will be seeing her first collegiate action after returning from the World Championships in Australia. The most notable of Teuscher's many accolades include an Olympic gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle relay at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and a perfect record in college dual meets. The Quakers are looking to salvage a win in their last home meet after losing at home to Brown, Army, Yale and Dartmouth. Since Columbia only lost to Dartmouth by four points last week in Teuscher's absence, the Red and Blue certainly have their work cut out for them and can ill afford to give up the 27 points that Teuscher virtually guarantees the Lions every time she competes. "When I swam for my club team, there were really fast girls in the invitational meets we would go to, but nobody like Teuscher," freshman Cathy Holland said. "I have never competed against someone like that but I would rather watch her because I think I could learn a lot. The fine points like turns and strokes are what I want to pick up from a world class swimmer." Teuscher is the best swimmer the Ivy League has seen since the late 1960s, when Lawlor-Gilbert swam at Penn with two-time Olympian Elie Daniel. "Aside from [Teuscher], we'll have some good races but we may not be deep enough," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "If individuals are doing their best times without shaving and tapering, then you just hope that enough people do well that you can win." Penn can rely to a certain extent on swimmers such as Jen Walsh and Holland, who have been reliable scorers throughout the season. The problem all season, however, has been converting second place finishes into firsts and avoiding mental mistakes on turns and starts. There is no doubt that Penn will win some races Friday evening. The outcome will be dictated by whether the Quakers can score enough to keep the meet competitive until the last few events.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.