Young Lions challenge Swimming: Long-awaited matchup finally comes

It's finally time. Since Oct. 1, the first official day of practice, the Penn women's swimming team has been training hard for this meet against the Lions. With only this first-semester goal in mind, the Quakers dove each morning and afternoon into Scheerr Pool, never stopping to rest, not even on the days before other competitions. Now the time has come for the team to see if all the hard work has paid off. Penn finally faces Columbia Saturday hoping to capture its first Ivy League win since November of 1992. "I haven't seen this much excitement for a meet in a few years," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. Beating the Lions has been the Quakers' main goal for a few reasons. First, it is the last meet of the semester. After Saturday, Penn does not race for another six weeks. This gives the Quakers (0-3) an opportunity to rest after putting forth its greatest possible effort. It is also a good way to measure the team's progress since the beginning of the season. Second, it is the best opportunity to win a meet thus far in the season. Although the Quakers are the underdogs, Columbia is definitely within reach. Finally, the Lions have been a traditional swimming rival for quite a few years. "Both teams really gear up for the meet," Schnur said. The Quakers are definitely ready to roll. "Every member of the team has been swimming very well," sophomore swimmer Christy Meyer said. "We're all very excited. It could be our first Ivy win in a couple years." Penn must get contributions from throughout its roster to score the upset. "We need all 19 women to swim well to win," Schnur said. "Everyone has to do their job, from first place through fifth place. " Part of performing well is resting before the meet. After training without stopping all season, the Quakers started light workouts last Sunday. "We wanted to rest to give ourselves a chance to compete with other teams," Meyer said. "We should swim our fastest times yet." The team heads to Scheerr Pool Saturday with high expectations. "I expect everyone to do great," Schnur said. "The woman are tremendously ready to swim." "We're going to give Columbia a run for their money," said Meyer.