M. Swim takes loss to Tigers in stride

The young and feisty Penn men's swimming team faced off against a tough, rough and ready Princeton squad and fell victim to the Tigers' veteran talent, 151 to 78, last Tuesday at Princeton. However, the Quakers (0-3, Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League, 0-3 overall) believe the dual meet was a step forward as they prepare for their focus of the first half of the season – the Columbia meet on December 11. Penn was happy with its performance in Princeton's (2-0, 2-0) frigid water given its shark-like competition. "I was pleased with the way they competed," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "Princeton's pretty loaded." As in the previous tri-meet against Yale and Cornell, the Quakers did not take a moment to breathe before the Princeton meet. In fact, Penn might have been even more weary going into Tuesday's meet since it practiced continuously – even having workouts over the weekend – in the four days between the two meets. It's all part of the coaching staff's strategy of grinding their young team – only 7 upperclassmen are on its 26-man travelling team – into a consistently competitive member of the EISL. "The harder you work, the better you get," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We competed without resting, without feeling so great. Very good discipline [is needed] for competing in this tough league." The hard practices right up to the meet often result in the Quakers falling behind early in races, where initial speed is essential. However, Penn's endurance enabled the Quakers to finish strong. "If we were a little more rested, we would have a lot more early speed," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "We ran out of room [at the end]." What makes the coaches particularly optimistic about the winless team is that the swimmers have recorded several best times for being unshaved and untapered (without rest). This pattern continued at Princeton. "We had a terrific meet – a lot of lifetime [unshaved, untapered] bests," Schnur said. "I think we're pointing in the right direction." Along with senior sprinter Rob Morris, who gave his usual strong performance, the coaches pointed to four freshmen – Jeff Brown, Ken Fletcher, Jon Guljord and Brian Stern – who swam extremely well. The fab four was led by Brown, who was nipped (he lost by just .64 seconds) by one of the Tigers' top swimmers in the 200-yard freestyle. Brown also placed first in the 500 freestyle with the time of 4:37.17. Fletcher teamed with sophomore Geoff Munger, Brown and Morris in winning the 400 freestyle relay. He also recorded his unshaved, untapered personal best in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.83. "I felt pretty happy with my swims," Fletcher said. "I did a personal best. I'll see at the end of the season when I'm shaved and tapered if it pays off." Along with performances of the swimmers, Penn's diving team also shows potential. However, like many of the Quakers' swimmers, the diving team is also inexperienced. "We have a very young team," new diving coach Phillip Bergere said. "We're looking for a lot of improvement. It's just taking a lot of time." During the Princeton meet, sophomore diver Neal Berger picked up three points for Penn in the 3-meter dive by placing third. However, what was most impressive was that five of the six dives were new. Berger and sophomore Josh Schultz lead the aerial attack for the Quakers. "Were only going to do better than last year and try to get points for the team," Schultz said. The drive to improve – especially for the freshmen – gives promise for a strong performance in the upcoming Columbia meet and for the future. "We train real hard and have a good attitude – a real attitude of competitive drive," Lawlor-Gilbert said.