Brown leads M. Swim in battle for respect

Last year's men's swimming contest between Penn and Brown was dominated by Brown -- Penn's Jeff Brown, that is. The then-freshman blew away the field in the 1,000-yard freestyle, posting the second fastest time in Quakers history. Sparked by Brown's performance, Penn rolled to a 133-110 victory. The Bears will be seeking revenge when they host the Quakers tomorrow in a noon meet. Both squads have struggled this year, sharing space in the Eastern Collegiate Intercollegiate Swimming League basement most of the season. Penn (1-4, 1-4 EISL) managed to pull ahead of the Bears with its first win of the season -- a 131-112 defeat of Dartmouth last week. "It was a big relief," Brown said. "Beating them at their own pool was a big boost to the team." "It got a lot of people who were starting to get down back with the team," sophomore Brian Stern added. Brown (0-4-1, 0-3-1), on the other hand, is still searching for its first victory. In the Bears' most recent conference meet, they were demolished by Harvard, 188-45. Brown did not even post a first-place finish in the meet. "They're not as bad as their record," Brown said. "They had a lot of tough meets early. They have a lot of good swimmers and a great coach." While he did not demonstrate it against the Crimson, Brown senior freestyler Dave Galluzzi can be dominating at times. He showed his breakaway speed against national-power Princeton, where he collected two first places and a second place. Galluzzi has the rare ability to win in both the sprints and the endurance races. A Galluzzi-Brown confrontation could provide the Ivy League with one of its top matchups of the year. Brown has been a model of consistency for the Red and Blue, winning at least one event in every meet this season. The streak is not in any serious jeopardy, since Galluzzi is Brown's only strong freestyler. If they are to have any chance at winning, the Bears will have to repeat last year's dominance on the diving platforms. Led by Bill Stevenson, Brown swept the one-meter event last year. But with Penn junior Josh Schultz back in a groove, another Bears sweep is unlikely. Both the one- and three-meter events should provide some of the best drama of the day. "I think it's going to be a good meet," Brown said, "a close meet. But I think we're going to win."