If there is ever a moment during the season when the Penn women's swimming team could breath a collective sigh of relief, now is a good time. For the first time all year, a little pressure has been relieved because the Quakers (0-6, 0-6 Ivy League) do not have to deal with all the stress that comes along with a conference meet. This break from a rigorous Ivy schedule will come when Penn tries to sink Navy today in Annapolis, Md. The Midshipmen (8-2) are a mature team that has only lost to Division I powerhouses Notre Dame and Maryland. The record represents a significant improvement from last year, when Navy finished below .500. All season, Navy's charge has been led by Michelle McKenna. The breaststroker was victorious in both the 100- and the 200-meter events. This was the third time this season she swept the breaststroke, with previous victories coming against Army and Florida Atlantic. What could be the most interesting twist of this meet is to see how the Quakers can deal with the different dimensions of Navy's pool. Instead of having events based on yards, Navy uses the metric system for its events, meaning each event is shorter than normal. Although this meet in a foreign pool will be a difficult one, the Quakers are looking forward to returning home for their next four meets. "It will help to be home after this," assistant coach Mike Schnur said last night. "When you have to get right off the bus and swim, you get tight. "It's tough to be on a bus for two and half hours and then swim well."
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