W. Swim faces test

It has been a tale of two seasons for the Penn women's swimming team. The Quakers have enjoyed the best of times in non-Ivy competition, going 5-0, and the worst of times in Ivy League play, with an 0-6 mark. The Quakers will conclude their regular season Sunday by tackling their final Ivy foe, Harvard, at Blobgett Pool in Cambridge, Mass. The Crimson -- tough, deep and undefeated -- has Ivy League championship thoughts dancing in its minds. The Quakers' main focus Sunday will not be on Harvard (4-0, 4-0 Ivy League) and its dizzying array of weapons, but rather on qualifying as many swimmers for the upcoming Easterns. "We're looking to get some more people to qualify for the Easterns," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "For the Eastern team, we are looking for them to finish off the season with a solid meet." The Quakers will be pulling out all the stops for this final meet, fully resting the swimmers who have not made the Easterns in an all-out push to make the cut. "We're pushing for the Eastern cut," coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We're hoping those on the borderline will make the cuts." Penn has already qualified six swimmers for the Easterns. Harvard will offer Penn competition that will be similar to the Easterns. For those that qualified, like freshman Gillian Morris, the experience of swimming against the Crimson could prove valuable. "We will learn about the competition more," Morris said. "The freshmen haven't ever swam against Harvard." The Quakers will be facing a Crimson team that stars junior captains Deborah Kory and Kristin Gately in the breaststroke and freestyle, respectively. Kory qualified for the NCAAs last year. The Penn coaches are impressed with Harvard's squad. "They're a great team," Schnur said. "They have depth in every event." "They are very good and very talented," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They won the Easterns in the past." Harvard might be coming into the meet a little fatigued since it will have played Princeton Saturday. However, Crimson coach Maura Costin-Scalise does not think fatigue will be much of a factor. "It shouldn't be a problem," Costin-Scalise said. "It would be just like swimming in the championships. We swim one day and just get up and swim some different events on the next day." The Harvard coach is looking forward to the matchup. "We love to swim against Penn," Costin-Scalise said. "The girls have a good attitude with everyone cheering each other. It's just a fun atmosphere."