M. Swimming improves, but loses to Army

While the Penn men's swim team knows that there are many bright spots to point to after Saturday's meet against Army, the group is nevertheless frustrated and disappointed that it left West Point with a loss. This lesson was handed to them by the rested and ready Cadets who held off the Quakers, 127-116, on Saturday at West Point, N.Y. The frustration in the meet was most clearly seen in the final and decisive event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Quakers put up a fast time, but still ended second in the race to a faster Army relay squad. Army out-touched Penn at the wall by less than a second, but that second translated into 11 points for Army and just four for the Quakers. That difference sealed the win for the Army squad and left Penn's seniors a few points from breaking their winless run against Army. "The first feeling is that you're really disappointed," Penn junior co-captain Colin Robinson said. "To kind of have victory in your grasp and have it pulled away is tough. They just swam a little bit better than us. Later you realize that our guys had great races and put up some fast times. It was an exciting meet." Army's climactic win was set up by a dominating performance in the previous race, the 200-yard breaststroke. Outscoring Penn 15-4 in that race gave Army back a 114-112 lead as the Army and Penn teams jumped into the water for the 400-yard freestyle-relay. That Penn was competitive so late in the meet is some consolation. Army had rested and tapered prior to the meet in preparation for Thursday's Patriot League championships. The Cadets also did not have to deal with a four-hour plus bus ride through the snow. "We were somewhat at a disadvantage, but you would never have known it," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "It was the best meet of the season as far as the toughness and grit." Hoping that this year would finally be the one in which they beat Army, the Quakers jumped out to their usual early lead by winning the first three races. Army ended their backslide by dominating the 50-yard freestyle. The rest of the meet flip-flopped as each team won in their stronger events. The Quakers were paced by Jeff Brown's three wins, while Matt Reilly continued his dominance in his specialty, the 200 yard backstroke, and Ryan Kafer roared to a win in the 200-yard freestyle. In diving, Kyle Goldbacher won both the one- and three-meter events, extending his win streak in diving events to six. While Penn's top-level swimmers dominated their events, it was Army which picked up many of the key second- and third-place points. Lawlor-Gilbert pointed out that the circumstances of the meet dictated that Army would have its second-level swimmers in peak form. "They swim great two meets a year -- it's a pattern," Gilbert said. "The only other meet they get so up for is Navy. With us, we are in the position of swimming them right before they go into their Patriot League championships." While there are many positive statistics to point to from Saturday's meet, the overriding feeling for Penn is a disheartening one. Having fought so hard to give themselves an opportunity to win, the Quakers had to leave West Point with a loss that Lawlor-Gilbert described as, "really, really, really, really tough." "I don't think I've ever had a men's team get off a bus and swim as well as this team did yesterday," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "It was the grittiest, toughest performance I've seen this team do, and we lost. It was very, very difficult. This was a win I really wanted for the team." In addition to gaining a win over Penn, Army's results Saturday erases a season of mediocre performances and lackluster times. The timing of the meet made it a must-win for Army, as they head towards their championships week, but it doesn't lessen the hurt that the loss dealt the Quakers.

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