Jeff and Bobby Brown: Brothers in the pool

The metaphysical bond between twins has been well documented. Many twins claim to have psychic ties, including the ability to feel the other's pain, read the other's mind or dream the other's dreams. For Penn sophomores Jeff and Bobby Brown, their common bond does not come from supernatural powers, just from a love of swimming. The fraternal twins arrived on campus with remarkable credentials. The duo led Clements High in Sugarland, Tx. to the regional title in both their freshman and senior years. Clements also finished seventh in the state championship their senior year. Jeff and Bobby also teamed up to lead their club team to the Junior Nationals, the highest level of high school competition, an astonishing three times. Jeff also qualified once on his own. Their best finish was a national second-place during the spring of their senior year. In addition, both sported Ivy-League caliber academic transcripts, making the decision for Penn admissions directors relatively simple. Jeff, the younger brother by four minutes, exploded onto the national scene as a senior at Clements. After a strong junior year, Brown made the jump to star status his final year. That season he won the state championship in the 500-yard freestyle and was the runner-up in the 200 freestyle. Remarkably, Jeff scored all of Clements' points in the state championship as Clements finished seventh. He later made the cut in the Senior Nationals, where he was one of only four swimmers under the age of 18. Jeff qualified in the 200-, 500-, 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyles. As a freshman at Penn, Jeff quickly established himself as the Quakers' top freestyler. He posted the second-fastest time in school history in the 1,000 freestyle at the Penn-Brown dual meet. This year, Jeff has won all but one race through six meets. His only non-win was a second-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle behind Princeton's Fred Klein, an NCAAs qualifier. It may not be long before that phrase is tagged behind Jeff's name as well. "Jeff's one of the best swimmers in the league," freshman Andrew Valins said. "He has a very good chance of qualifying for the NCAAs." It is Jeff's incredible intensity that drives him to work as hard as does. His teammates insist he is the hardest worker on the team. Jeff won't give up in a race, no matter how far behind he is. "If he's in the water, he will just reach deep inside and catch the guy," Bobby Brown said. "He doesn't care about the clock. He just wants to beat him and make him look bad. "He gets offended when people try and beat him. He doesn't understand why people try to beat him. He's that confident." · Jeff credits Bobby with much of his success. "Bobby was really an inspiration to me," he said. "He was always really into keeping swimming fun." "If he didn't swim, if he wasn't on the team, I don't think I'd get as much out of it. In fact, I know I wouldn't get as much out of it." While Jeff has made a name for himself in the freestyle events, Bobby's biggest contributions have come in the butterfly and relay races. "His strongest stroke is definitely the breaststroke," sophomore Brian Stern said. "He's made a lot of improvement since last year, and that's really helping the team." Despite his strength in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, Bobby is most valuable to the team in the relays. He usually competes in the 400 medley relay, which is the opening event at meets, but at times races with the 400 freestyle relay squad. "If the team can score well in the medley relay, it gets the meet off to a good start," Bobby said. "And so many meets come down to the last three events. So winning the freestyle relay is important." Although he doesn't have a state championship medal to show off, Bobby arrived at Penn with an impressive resume. It was experiences such as competing at Junior Nationals, where he raced against some of the nation's top swimmers, that made Bobby a natural leader. "A lot of guys, especially freshmen, look up to him," Stern said. "He keeps everyone's spirit up in practice." "It's his attitude," Jeff added. "He may not be the fastest. But he'll always have a smile on his face." Because of such qualities, Bobby would seem like a natural to coach. In fact, he gave coaching a try last summer as an instructor in Texas. Bobby taught children aged 14 and under how to swim and coached them in their technique. Bobby has set a goal of reaching the Eastern Conference finals in the 100 and 200 butterfly events by the time he graduates. With his dedication and strong work ethic, his teammates believe his dream can become a reality. · With two such competitive brothers, one might expect there to be a sibling rivalry. Not true. "I've never seen any two brothers get along better," Stern said. "They're best friends." They would have to be. Jeff and Bobby have shared a room since birth and continue to be roommates at Penn. Although they are the closest of friends out of the pool, Jeff and Bobby are just teammates during competitions. "That's the neat thing about their relationship as brothers," Valins said. "It's independent of swimming." "When they're in the pool, they concentrate on what they're doing," Stern added. "They're individuals." They're also the future of the Penn swimming program.

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