After a month of tough competition, the Penn men’s and women’s swimming teams made their last home meet of the season an occasion for celebration.
Last night at Sheerr Pool, both squads defeated La Salle in their last dual meets before ECAC and Ivy Championships. The women won by a score of 188-110, while the men took down the Explorers, 173-122.
The meet offered a change of pace for the Quakers as the coaches decided to substitute some of the longer distance events with shorter sprints.
“They [haven’t] gotten to do 50-yard strokes since they were little kids,” head coach Mike Schnur said.
“It made it more fun,” senior captain Amy Reams said. “It was good to change it up a little bit — keep the enthusiasm and excitement level up.”
The extra energy complemented the seniors’ motivation to perform well in the last home meet of their careers.
Senior captain Stephanie Nerby swam her best 500-yard freestyle in a dual meet, winning the event with a time of 5:00.87.
“It was sad, but I think the team swam well overall, so it was kinda bittersweet,” said Nerby, who also won the 200 free.
The women’s win over the Explorers (4-4) gave the Quakers (5-4) their third straight victory, which Reams thinks should give them sufficient momentum going into their end-of-the-year meets.
“I think the last couple meets we’ve really come together,” she said. “We’ve had a few people step up and post times that are nearly records.”
The men’s team was also victorious, earning its fourth consecutive victory after defeating the Explorers, 173-122.
Senior captain James Fee thinks that the hot streak will continue through the Ivy Championships.
“People aren’t going to be surprised if we do something great,” Fee said.
The senior won the 200 free with a time of 1:45.26 last night.
For the seniors, this was the perfect finish to their careers at Sheerr Pool, where the Penn men (6-3, 4-3 Ivy) were 5-1 this season.
In addition to Fee, seniors Chris Buck and Kyle Loughran were also victorious in their events.
“We’re a lot better team than we were a year ago,” Schnur said, “and a lot of that is because of the seniors.”
The goal for both teams this season has been to place third in the Ivy Championships.
But Fee has other goals as the team heads into the championships.
“We might even be able to do better than that,” he said.
That’s a bold prediction, given that either Harvard or reigning champion Princeton has won each of the last 37 titles.
“It’s gonna be a challenge, but it’s a challenge we’re gonna step up to the plate for,” Nerby said.
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