Penn swimming preps for Harvard

Penn swimmers will finally return to the familiar waters of Sheerr Pool after a long stretch of competition in enemy territory.

After nearly two months on the road, the Quakers are all set to return to their friendly confines in Philadelphia. Over the weekend, both the men (3-3, 3-2 Ivy) and women (2-4, 1-4) will take on rival Brown on Saturday, with the Harvard women’s squad (3-1, 3-1) arriving on Sunday to compete against the Quakers as well.

The Brown men (3-1, 0-1) comes into Philadelphia after having dropped its last competition in a dual meet at Harvard. Similarly, the Brown women (4-1, 0-1) fell to the Crimson in their previous meet and look to bounce back with a strong showing against Penn. Based on the results of both Bears teams’ meets, there are some Brown swimmers that Penn coach Mike Schnur’s squads will have to outmatch to have a happy homecoming.

Brown senior Tommy Glenn has taken home first place in the 100 and 200 butterfly at the Ivy League Championships in two consecutive years, also winning those events in Brown’s Saturday loss at Harvard. So watch out for some intense competition Saturday between Glenn and Penn senior captain Rhoads Worster, Penn’s record holder in the 100 butterfly.

“You can’t prepare for Tommy Glenn,” Penn coach Mike Schnur said. “You have to think Tommy will win all of his events, so we have to win the rest.”

Senior Briana Borgolini is a strong swimmer who also finished as the Bears’ lone double event-winner at Harvard, claiming both the 100 and 200 breaststroke at Harvard. In addition to holding the school record in both of these events, Borgolini also took part in the Brown record-setting 200 and 400 medley relay teams.

“Briana [Borgolini] didn’t swim during the first semester, so we were hoping to catch a break,” Schnur said. “We were hoping to exploit their breaststrokers, but now that she’s swimming, we won’t be able to do that.”

As the men’s team gets a day off from competition on Sunday, the women Quakers will get right back in the pool against a formidable Crimson squad. Sophomore Harvard swimmer Danielle Lee is a versatile swimmer who has been enjoying some recent success, especially against Brown on Saturday, when she took first place in four different events.

“Facing Harvard is difficult no matter when you face them,” Schnur said. “They are by far the most talented team in the conference.”

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