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Women's swimming defeats Columbia 215-85 in their first home meet of the season, winning all 16 events and breaking 5 pool records. Credit: Zoe Gan , Zoe Gan

It was a beatdown, to be sure.

A year ago, Penn women’s swimming took on Columbia for its first dual meet of the 2014 season. While the two teams were considered to be evenly matched going into the contest, the final score was anything but: The Quakers won all 16 events and broke five different Sheerr Pool records en route to a dominant 215-85 victory.

“Usually, the teams are very evenly matched. It would come down to just a few points between us year after year,” freestyler Virginia Burns, a freshman at the time, said. “We were angry at coming close but just not making it.”

One such close defeat came the fall before, in 2013. That season, the Quakers lost a frustrating 166-134 dual meet to the Lions in November before finishing fifth in the Ivy League championships, one spot behind their rivals from the Big Apple.

So, fed up with defeat, the Red and Blue resolved that 2014 would be different.

“Going into it, a lot of the upperclassmen, a lot of the alumni were getting really into it and getting us really hyped up,” Burns said. “The team really came together in getting ready for the meet.”

Much of the animosity between the two teams derived from Columbia’s practice of wearing high-performance tech suits during each dual meet — a practice usually reserved for end-of-the year championship meets. Last fall, however, the Quakers resolved to beat the Lions at their own game.

“We were tired of losing, so we put our fast suits on also,” coach Mike Schnur said. “We killed them. We broke five pool records.”

This year, however, things will be much different. Longtime Columbia assistant (and 2014 acting head coach) Michael Sabala is no longer with the program, and leaving with him will be the Lions’ fast-suit policy.

“This year we’re going back to an old-school meet with normal practice suits, the way we’ve always done it,” Schnur said. “I think that’s a really great change.”

So, while the two teams may not put up gaudy times, there is still plenty to be interested in as the teams face off Friday in the 2015 iteration of the rivalry. Schnur, in particular, is interested in seeing what his freshmen have to offer.

“There’s going to be a lot of freshmen on both teams who will be very influential in this meet,” the 16th-year head coach said, listing off a half-dozen rookies that he believes have potential. “There’s a lot of unknowns, but there’ll be a lot of great races.”

Penn, of course, also has a loaded lineup of experienced swimmers, from Burns to junior Rochelle Dong — who broke pool records in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly during the ‘14 beatdown — to fellow junior breaststroker Haley Wickham. So, on paper, the Quakers have the manpower to replicate the result of a year ago.

Still, suits, rivalries and records aside, Schnur has a very simple message for the Quakers as they head into the first meet of the season.

“We’re not trying to be fast now, we’re trying to be fast at the end of February,” Schnur said. “And most of all, just have fun. They’ve been training hard. I’ve been beating on them for nine weeks.

“It’s time to race.”

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