W. Swim refuses to back down

"They won't shrink from a challenge," Penn women's swimming coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. After defeating Swarthmore 109-76 on the road Tuesday, and capturing their third victory in four days, the Quakers (5-6, 0-6 Ivy League) are not ready to back down any time soon. Penn took first-place in all 12 events and even swept the 100- and 200-yard individual freestyle events and the 200 freestyle relay. "The women have been swimming hard," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They are in great shape and have been showing a real aggressive attitude. When they come to compete, they compete." Since the 1920s, the Quaker-Garnet matchup has been used as a training meet, a chance for both teams to attempt to qualify for their respective league championships. Penn sophomore Gillian Beamer kept with tradition by qualifying in the 100 breaststroke with a first-place finish of 1:08.45. Beamer swam her career best and broke the pool record. "It was awesome," she said. "I knew that I would go fast, but when I looked up at the time, I was really happy." Penn sophomore Allison Zegar also broke a pool record in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:42.36. Zegar's feat was more impressive considering this was the first time she, or any Quaker, swam the mile event this season. Zegar's finish was an indicator of her versatility in freestyle events. The strong first-place performances by senior Megan Staats, sophomore Kerry Bolstad and freshmen Emily Montes and Natalie Wolfinger in the 200 freestyle relay (1:46.81) led the Quaker sweep. "In the relays, we saw some good competition," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "Our team looked in good condition." Both coaches used a similar strategy. Besides qualifying top swimmers in their specialty events, they also gave them experience in events they do not usually swim. Lawlor-Gilbert saw the meet as an opportunity to see the women swim their short events faster. "Swarthmore was using the same strategy," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They have been through some tough meets and they used the same tactics we did. They had a lot of swimmers in off events." A Division III school, Swarthmore is unlike the competition Penn faces in the Ivy League, where the Quakers face teams with twice the number of swimmers. Also, Penn must attempt to overcome a 32-point handicap because it has no diving squad. Although the scores do not accurately reflect the level of competition, the Quakers have already qualified six swimmers for Easterns. Lawlor-Gilbert feels the team has a renewed focus on its season goal to qualify as many swimmers as possible. The Quakers have only one meet left to accomplish this feat. "I think the Navy meet did a lot for the women," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They learned what they wanted to get out of the season. We have to consider every meet important."