Depth should drown Brown

M. Swimming expects competition in each race, but team depth should be the difference. While the Penn men's swimming team has respect for the top swimmers on Brown's squad, the Quakers admit that to come away with anything less than a victory on Saturday, when they face the Bears in Providence, R.I., would be a shocking and disappointing result. The meet should feature competitive finishes for the top spot in each race, but Penn expects that its depth will lead to victory. Brown has some young talent, but with only 12 team members they will have difficulty accumulating a large number of points in each race. "It's a meet we ought to win. We have a better team than Brown does," assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "The main reason we will win this meet is because our depth is superior to Brown. There are going to be some great races for first and second place. We are going to pick up a lot of the backup points." The diving competition is the one in the meet in which the outcome is unsure. Penn's diving squad, when healthy, has performed consistently all season, but Brown's traditionally high-quality group has posted some puzzling results in their two prior meets. "Traditionally, Brown has had very strong diving," Schnur said. "So far this year, though, the results haven't shown that. Brown hasn't swum many meets. You never can tell, but they don't seem to be as strong in diving as the y have been in the past." Penn's confidence and its commitment to be strong at the end of the season has led coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert to choose to have the team train straight through the meet. Led by five seniors, who are rated by the coaching staff as one of the strongest group of seniors to pass through Penn in recent history, the Quakers look to continue their Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League success on Saturday, despite going through a complete workout yesterday. "With the training we did over break in Florida, we feel good," said senior Matt Robon. "With our performance at Dartmouth, things are looking good. We are going to have some tough meets in front of us. [Training through the meet] is a common practice. You bust your butt all season." In addition to having superior depth, Penn also has recent history on its side. The Quakers, especially the five seniors, don't expect their perfect career record against the Bears to end. Brown is hoping that its win over Dartmouth in November, its first in two years, and its winter training in St. Petersburg, Fla., is a positive signal that more improvement and upset victories lie ahead. "Brown is much better this year, but the senior class has never lost to Brown and do not plan on doing so now," Schnur said.

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