Swimming hosts Division III Garnet

So far in the 1998-'99 season, the Penn women's swimming team has been unable to break through for the ever-slippery 'W'. Though Eastern League home losses to Cornell and Princeton have the Quakers off to the same 0-2 start they had last season, the team remains optimistic about its chances in today's meet against Swarthmore which starts with the men at 5:30 pm in Penn's Scheerr Pool. The Quakers picked up their only victory of the 1997-'98 season over the Garnet, defeating the Division III Swarthmore squad by the final tally of 118-75. Seemingly a cure for all that plagued the Quakers, the Swarthmore match a year ago saw the Penn team win nine different races. "We know that they're a little bit better than last year, but we're trying to focus more on our own racing and on racing whoever is next to us," junior captain Jen Walsh said. "I think our team this year is a lot stronger and has a lot more depth. We definitely have a good chance of at least matching [last year's margin of victory]." This year, though, the Garnet come into the Quakers Scheerr Pool as a tougher, more mature squad. "Swarthmore women have some Division III National Qualifiers on their team, so they're going to be a team that we need to pay attention to," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They're much improved over last year's squad." · Just 10 days after defeating Cornell to open their Ivy League season with a bang, the Quakers lost big to Princeton to drop their 1998-'99 record to 1-1. But if history is any indication, then the cure to this reversal of fortunes may be upon the Quakers as they host area rival Swarthmore tonight. The Quakers handled Swarthmore easily last year -- defeating the Garnet 127-71 for their largest victory of the 1997-'98 season. "I'm going to try some people in different events on both squads," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "Swarthmore men are not quite as strong as their women."

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