Swim teams face Darmouth in first meets after break

Men looking to continue recent success If the brutal winter storms can't keep Dartmouth from successfully competing, the Penn men's swimming team is ready to take a shot. The Quakers will take on the Big Green tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. at Sheerr Pool. Penn hopes to repeat the success it has had at home recently. The Quakers are coming off a stellar meet with Columbia December 11, when personal bests were set by several swimmers. After spending Winter Break in Florida training intensively for the remainder of the season, Penn (1-3 overall, 1-3 EISL) is ready to see the fruits of its labor. It was not all sun and fun as the team worked out with double practices daily and had a meet with Lebanon Valley and Simmons College. The Quakers won the meet, but it was not considered much more than a practice race and insignificant to their standing. Tomorrow's meet promises to be a showdown of two teams eager and hungry for an addition to their win columns. The Quakers will be facing stiff competition Dartmouth (3-3 overall, 0-3 EISL), which fared well last year, and has improved this season, according to Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert. "The teams are really very similar," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We're looking forward to the challenge. They are a good, tough team -- better than their record shows." The Quakers will have a strong home-pool advantage since Dartmouth will be making the trek from Hanover, N.H., in bad weather. However, depth is the factor Penn is counting on to tip the scales in its favor. The Quaker coaching staff is predicting the battle for first place in each race will be hard fought, and it will be vital to secure strong second- and third-place finishes to defend their home pool. "Our depth is key," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "Their top men are matched with our top men. We need the second and third men on our team to be really scrappy and competitive." "What really matters is putting in a solid performance," sophomore Sean Davison said. "It's going to be hard to have a lot of personal best times in this meet because we're not rested, but we have to be solid. Our depth is going to be important." Penn will be looking for leadership from senior captain Rob Morris and junior Jim McGinnis, who led the squad to a powerful 137-93 victory over Columbia earlier this season. "As usual we are looking towards Rob Morris and the seniors, but we are expecting things from the whole team," Schnur said. "It's important for everyone to do their part." Expectations are high for Penn, which prides itself on its aggressive attitude and cohesiveness. Last year the Quakers defeated Dartmouth with a team lacking the 16 highly-touted freshmen recruits integral to this year's squad. "We're expecting to win the meet," Davison said. "We're taking the meet seriously, and we've been swimming hard. But we also have to make sure we don't get too overconfident." Though the Quakers consist of primarily underclassmen, the lack of experience should not be a factor. Penn has already faced more-experienced teams in Yale, Cornell and Princeton. "Inexperience is not really going to be a factor," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "This team has a sense of purpose. We are on a mission." Unless the winter storms beat them to it, the Quakers can continue on their mission by snowing the Big Green tomorrow.