Lions slip past W. Swimming by 2-point margin

It was so close it mixed with the taste of chlorine in their mouths. The Penn women's swimming team thought that they were going to pull out their first Ivy win since December 1992. The Quakers faced a comparable opponent -- Columbia. At one point Saturday, Penn was ahead 133-112, a seemingly insurmountable margin. But when the final points were tallied, the Quakers fell just two points short of defeating the Lions. Columbia slipped past Penn by a 151-149 score. "They gave it everything they had," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. Indeed, despite the disappointing loss, Penn swam the best it had all season. The Quakers placed first in seven of 13 events, which included 11 races and two diving competitions. "All the woman gave 110 percent," Penn assistant Mike Schnur said. "It was the best swimming I've seen in a long time." Many of the women turned in great individual performances. Senior captain Alison Zegar won the 500-yard and 1000 freestyle. Senior Gillian Beamer won the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Last year, Beamer was not on the team because she was abroad. "Beamer had a great meet," Schnur said. "It's great to have her back. Her presence here today was great." Freshman Jen Triolo won the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke while freshman Kelly James won the 100 fly. And even those that did not place first enjoyed personal success. Freshman Lauren Ballough placed second in the 200 yard backstroke, breaking a personal best. "Most everyone swam their personal best," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "I'm really happy with everyone," Zegar agreed. "We were actually a team, and we had a lot of fun." "Everyone was really well-focused," Beamer added. "The freshmen swam excellently, and there were a lot of best times." The Quakers spent the entire first half of the season training for this meet. Unlike most teams, who rest before every meet, Penn did not take a break from its rigorous workouts before the Columbia meet. While Saturday's effort was in some ways rewarding, unfortunately the results will not leave their mark on the win column. "It's disappointing because they were really looking forward to beating Columbia," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They really buckled down and went after it and they didn't get their reward."