Tired M. Swim has respectable meet

Tired and inexperienced, the Penn's men swimming team gutted out a highly respectable and promising performance in the opening act of the season – a tri-meet against Cornell and Yale that took place at Yale last Friday. The Quakers (0-2) looked upon Friday's meet – especially for the freshmen who compose nearly half of the team – as a chance to get their feet wet in league play. The coaching staff was pleased with what it witnessed. "Overall, I think we swam pretty well," assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "We had a great experience from it. It can only help us in the long run." The Quakers have made the Columbia meet on December 11 the primary focus of the first half of the season. To that effect, the coaching staff decided to not to disrupt their practices and rest before the meet. The continuous hard practice is suppose to pay off for Penn in the future, but for Friday's meet Penn's lack of rest served as an obstacle that had to be overcome. "We opted to do [this strategy] because it was such an early meet," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We wanted to go out without any rest. [Unfortunately] you get a little broken down." This makes the Quakers' performance – where several swimmers swam lifetime bests – look even more impressive. In particular, outstanding performances were given by senior Rob Morris and freshman sensation Jeff Brown. Morris, the team's leader and top sprinter, beat all Cornell swimmers in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle. He recorded times of 21.03 seconds and 47.57 seconds, respectively in those two meets. "Rob Morris had a great meet," Schnur said. "He set himself off on a great season. He is a pre-eminent swimmer in the league. Dead tired, he beat almost all of them." Complimenting the veteran savvy of Morris, Brown showed his raw talent in excelling in his Quaker debut. Brown had the task of swimming what Schnur describes as the three most difficult events – the 500 and 1000 freestyle, as well as the 200 butterfly. He performed admirably in all three events, topping all of Cornell swimmers in the 1000 free-style with in a time of 9:35.84. The experience of Penn's first meet was most beneficial to the freshmen – a group that received their initiation to collegiate competition last Friday. "It was nerve-wracking swimming against people really fast," freshman swimmer Jonathan Mishkin said. "I think our team did quite well." Lawlor-Gilbert feels the experience will help the entire team as the Quakers continue prepare for the all-important Columbia meet. "It was a very positive experience for the team," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "I think this team is really going to come together." · Today's meet at Princeton will be another early test for Penn as it continues to gain experience in league play. The Tigers will be a severe test for the Quakers as they finished second in the Intercollegiate Swimming League last year. The freshmen are anxious to meet this challenge. "I'm all set to go [today] and do some damage," Mishkin said.