Navy too much in the pool

Penn's women's swimming team hung tough but lost to Navy. Maybe the rest of America should take comfort from Navy's 166-128 victory over the Penn women's swimming team. After all, how secure would Americans feel if the Quakers, or any other team for that matter, swam better than the U.S. Naval Academy? The Quakers (1-6, 0-3), however, were not intimidated by future of America's maritime security. And judging by the Midshipmen's 5-8 overall record, Penn had no reason to be afraid. "This was a meet we were really hoping to win, and we had chances to win too," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "Since the scoring for first place is so much more than that for second and third, we got edged out by a bigger margin." Sensational freshman Cathy Holland finished first in two events. She and co-captain Lauren Hibbert were the only Penn swimmers to finish first in an individual event. Hibbert took the 400 yard freestyle in 4 minutes, 38.50 seconds. Holland began with an 800 free win in 9:22.61 and followed it up quickly with another victory in the 200 backstroke. Holland finished the event in 2:23.68, more than five seconds faster than the second best time. The only other first place finish for Penn was by the 400 freestyle relay team, which clocked in at 4:08.63. The quartet of Michelle Amicone, Hibbert, Christina Cooney and Katie Kowalski gave Penn a much-needed late boost to close the gap. "We had some different faces in the lineup," said Hibbert. "Cooney normally swims backstroke but she has switched to sprints lately and has done well. Katie [Kowalski] swam a great anchor leg and that first place really lifted us." The results may have been more palatable for Penn if the Red and Blue could have converted some second-place finishes into firsts. A team is awarded nine points for a first place finish, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. The Quakers were undone despite capturing second and third place in five races because the Mids finished first and fourth, which, based upon the scoring system, earned the Midshipmen 11 points to Penn's seven. Three Navy sophomores each recorded multiple first place finishes, closing the door on the Quakers and denying the team any opportunity to win. "We went in knowing we were going to be competitive," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "The 2 1/2 hour drive to Annapolis did wear us out. We did a wake-up swim early Saturday morning but we fell short again."