M. Swimming falls Army

They came, they saw, they conquered. Army invaded Sheerr Pool Saturday and marched past the Quakers, 131-112, but as the score indicates, it was a battle. "It was the most exciting meet of my collegiate career," Penn sophomore Colin Robinson said. "We really came together as a team and took it to them. A lot of guys stepped up and we just came up a little bit short. Army really just escaped from our pool." The meet was up for grabs until the second-to-last event -- the 200-yard breastroke. Army's top breastroker propelled himself past Penn sophomore Rob Hassett and junior Bobby Brown to clinch the win for the Black Knights. "The fact that Army shaved that guy for this meet is a sign of respect for Rob Hassett," Robinson said. "The coach probably knew they wouldn't be able to beat him any other way. Rob will destroy them at Easterns." "The whole Army team, if not shaved, was completely rested and in top racing form today," Robinson said. "And we almost beat them." What kept the Quakers within striking distance was a combination of excellence from the usual suspects and gritty performances from many of the younger swimmers. Freshman Ryan Kafer dominated the short freestyle events, while Penn captain and team utility man Jeff Brown had one of the finest dual meets of his career, winning the 1000 freestyle and the 200 individual medley -- two events he rarely swims. As if that mattered. Brown hasn't lost a race this season. At this point, coach Kathy Lawlor Gilbert could probably enter Brown in the diving event and the junior would find a way to win. But she didn't have to, as senior Josh Schultz surprised everyone in his final home meet to claim first place in the 1-meter event over two talented Army divers. Schultz also grabbed third on the 3-meter. "We swam as well as we expected to in every event," senior Geoff Munger said. "We had a chance to win, especially since our guys, freshmen like Rudy Chung and Brian Cohen, kept beating out Army guys for fourth and fifth place. Sixth place doesn't get you any points, so it was like Army was wasting a swimmer. It looked like we were finally going to topple that annoying streak." Penn has not defeated Army since 1973. "It was one of the two best meets I've had here," Munger said of his final home meet. "The other one was when we almost beat an undefeated Navy team my freshman year. Obviously it would have been better if we'd won, but I usually remember how fun the meet was, not the score."