W. Swim welcomes home meet

There's no place like home. Whether you're talking to Dorothy or Penn women's swimming coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert, the sentiments are the same. "It's great to be at home," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "There's none of the fatigue of suffering through long bus trips. We're more comfortable here because we practice here every day. The divers are used to the boards. We'll have the support of our fans. It's especially nice to be home for such an important meet." In their opening home meet of the 1993-94 season, the Quakers (0-3) will host Columbia's Lions (0-4 Ivy, 1-4) tomorrow at noon in Gimbel Gymnasium's Sheerr Pool. From the season's outset, the Penn women have pointed toward tomorrow's contest as one of the most crucial of the year. "We've been focusing on the Columbia meet since day one," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "We have a twofold mission on Saturday. First, we want to qualify as many people as we can for Eastern championships. Then, of course, we want to win." In terms of qualifying for Easterns, swimming competitively in Sheerr Pool may actually have physical as well as psychological benefits for the Quakers. "Our pool is very fast compared to others in the league," Schnur said. "Being at home can help us [qualify]. It's a good place for us to make our cuts." Defeating Columbia, however, represents a more formidable task for Penn. Despite their dismal record, the Lions boast a number of tough swimmers at the top of their lineup, including senior Denise Ambron, an NCAA qualifier last year in the 100-yard breaststroke and 50 freestyle, and standout freshman Rachel Strong. "We're in a situation similar to Penn's," Columbia coach Diana Caskey said. "We have a small squad and we're trying to rebuild. We both have strong frontline swimmers and not a lot of depth. It ought to be a good contest the whole way through." "Columbia's a lot stronger than last year," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They've got some outstanding swimmers and they're looking to prove themselves." Nevertheless, the Quakers believe tomorrow's meet may be an excellent opportunity to earn their first dual-meet victory of the season. "We're going to go at 'em and go at 'em and go at 'em," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We're not going to let up." "To win, it's going to take 14 girls united in purpose," Schnur said. "We're going to have to do whatever it takes to win. All of our girls are going to be swimming four events. It's going to be very difficult and very tiring. We're just going to have to step up and get crazy."