Tigers topple tired Penn

After a big win over Cornell, the Penn men's swimming team fell to Princeton and germs. The Tigers came into town prepared for a battle. But what Princeton got instead was an easy victory over sick and tired opponents as it easily defeated the Penn men's swimming team, 157-83, in a dual meet last night at the Quakers' Sheerr Pool. The Tigers took an early lead by securing first- and second-place finishes in nearly every event before the diving, which separates the two halves of the swimming competition. The Penn divers fared no better than their swimming compatriots, with freshman Kyle Goldbacher placing fourth, the highest for the Quakers, in the three-meter competition. Penn was unable to recover from the 86-26 start. Many factors, primarily germs, contributed to the Quakers' poor showing. Penn freshman Jon Maslow was pulled form the meet due to illness after a strong showing in the sprints at Saturday's meet against Cornell. Penn co-captain Jeff Brown was also sick. "The flu and mono have decimated our team. We just have too many people who are not in great form," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. Quakers co-captain Colin Robinson blames the loss on the proximity of this meet to the last contest. "We are still recovering from a big emotional and physical win against Cornell," he said. "We have got to learn to swim tired." Princeton came into the meet expecting the Penn team to swim the way it did against Cornell. "It got back to us that Princeton's coach had shaved down the team because they thought we had shaved down and were ready to beat them," Lawlor-Gilbert said. The bright spots on the Penn team were freshman Matt Reilly and senior Ken Fletcher, who placed first in the 200 backstroke and the 200 butterfly, respectively. But their points were not enough to make a difference for the Quakers. "Princeton is always a tough meet for us. They are a really strong team," Robinson said. "I don't think that they are out of our reach, though. We had some problems this time." The two teams will face each other again at the Eastern championships in February. But first, Penn's swimmers are preparing for a much-needed Thanksgiving break. "We are thankful that we get the opportunity to recuperate before the next big meet [at Colgate]," Lawlor-Gilbert said.