M. Swimming relaxes in loss

Both Penn's and Harvard's men's swim teams took time out from training for their Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championships to honor their seniors at Sheerr Pool on Saturday. In what was less a swim meet and more a social gathering, the senior Quakers got to take their final competitive laps through their home pool. That Harvard won the meet by a resounding score of 201-75 was of little importance to the swimmers, coaches, family and friends who gathered to laud the class of 1997. The individual races brought out few yells from either sideline, as most were more engaged in conversations with each other or the crowd. The 200-yard freestyle relay –– the day's final race –– epitomized the atmosphere of the weekend. Both Harvard and Penn entered all senior teams into the race. The Quakers' seniors enjoyed their final laps in the pool by coasting to a sixth-place finish. Jon Levine even added a twisting dive entry into the water for his lap, amusing the crowd further. "It was fun to do," Levine said. "It wasn't a great dive, but it was a real relaxed meet. We just wanted to do something different. It was fun to sit down and watch a swim meet." The seniors also opened the meet by being introduced in a pre-event ceremony. The five Quakers seniors –– Jeff Brown, Robert Brown, Ken Fletcher, Jon Levine and Matt Robon –– have been considered one of the deepest senior graduating classes in years and have been the backbone of the leadership behind this year's team. "When I was a freshman these were the guys that showed me the ropes, how to swim a dual meet, how to train hard everyday," Penn junior co-captain Colin Robinson said. "It's a team that has changed a lot and improved a lot and it started with their class. It's kind of sad to see them go. I felt good to be able to say that stuff about them. They will be missed a lot." Robert Hassett's performance in the 500-freestyle highlighted another focus of the day –– giving swimmers the opportunity to swim different events. Hassett, normally a breaststroker and individual medley swimmer, went out and coasted through a lazy 500 yards in which he was lapped by both Harvard swimmers. Hassett's time of 5:13.96 made the event similar in speed to a water ballet. "We have no chance of winning so we are just enjoying ourselves," Hassett said as he breathlessly exited the water. "I go 5:02 in practice, I just made it kind of fun. It's a lot different than the last three meets against Navy, Army and Columbia. We can relax and then refocus for Easterns." The relaxed attitude of the participants and the spectators flowed into the diving events as well. The officials were prompted to quiet the light hearted conversations in the stands on numerous occasions. The divers then proceeded to look less than interested in their dives. As the competitors twisted, spun, flopped and performed without consistency, the dives received scores which made it clear that none of the competitors was at its usual levels of crispness. "It was kind of crazy. We're focussed on Easterns more," Penn diver Kyle Goldbacher said. "At Easterns I have an 11-dive list, so I've been practicing all my dives and not really focussing on these exact ones that I did today. I'm not pleased with my performance today, but I'm looking forward to Easterns. "People might think [the crowd noise] is distracting, but it's really not. There's really nothing to blame a poor performance on except your own lack of concentration." The coaches were pleased with the lax attitude of the day and with the opportunity to let the swimmers try new events. The meet was also seen as a good way to honor the seniors. "It was relaxed. I thought one of the best things was the things that Robinson expressed for the team about the five seniors," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "The guys enjoyed themselves. It is an exercise really to finish the dual meet season. At another point in the season we wouldn't be approaching it this way, but it worked out that Harvard's our last meet and that's our approach." After their meet with Harvard on Saturday, Penn jumped right back in the water yesterday to continue their taper in preparation for their final meet -- one that will have a much more serious atmosphere than the family day feeling that dominated on Saturday.

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