W. Swimming enjoys relaxed victory over Swarthmore

In their minds, the Quakers had already beaten Swarthmore before last night's match. Penn knew that it was better on paper, but it still had to take care of business. As expected, the Penn women's swimming team handily defeated the Garnet last night at Gimbel Gymnasium by more than doubling Swarthmore's score, 164-74. After losing two straight meets to Ancient Eight rivals Cornell and Princeton, Penn (1-2) was eager to face Swarthmore (5-2) . "It's all an attitude," Penn co-captain Lauren Hibbert said. "When you come in and you've seen other people's times, and you know what they've done in previous meets, you just have to go in and know that you're going to win. "I think that it's easier to get up on the blocks and know you're next to someone who's not quite as fast. It's a confidence boost." The Quakers proved that they were the dominant team by sweeping three events, finishing first and second in another three events, and winning 10-of-13 total. Penn finished first and second in both relays, and also had a little fun with class rivalries. The Quakers were able to have freshman, sophomore and senior relay teams at the end of the meet because of the less competitive atmosphere. The freshmen prevailed with a time of 1:42.56, while the seniors were second and the sophomores were fourth. Penn's performance was highlighted by freshman April Fletcher, who had first-place finishes in the 100 meter backstroke and the 100 meter breaststroke, as well as two first place finishes as a member of two relay teams. Swarthmore did not do that poorly, though, because Penn is a Division I school, whereas the Garnet compete in Division III. Swarthmore is actually one of the top teams in their division. "[Swarthmore] is pretty good. They're going to go to Division III nationals, so [Swarthmore] is probably [a] top-four or top-five Division III team," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. Swarthmore's performance was highlighted by three wins in 13 events, several personal bests and by one swimmer making the cut for Nationals in two events. "Swarthmore competed well," Hibbert said. "They're definitely stronger than what I've seen of the past." Swarthmore freshman Alic Bonarou finished first in the 100 meter fly with a time of 59.55 seconds and swam the 200 breast in 2:29.19 for another win. Swarthmore freshman Amy Auerbach had the remaining Garnet first place finish, with a time of 2:17.83 in the 200 back. "We had some very outstanding swims tonight," Swarthmore coach Sue Davis said. "[Bonarou] in the 100 butterfly made a national cut -- she did the same thing in the 200 breast stroke -- made a national cut. Our freestyler that we usually swim distance swam the 200 [free] in a lifetime best." Many swimmers on both sides competed in events outside their expertise, given the non-conference meet. "We had some people swim better today than they did against Princeton," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "The overall effect is that you get some information and also see some progress and also some fatigue and learn more about your team. "It may impact the rest of the season after we review the results." Before the Quakers face Drexel on January 9, they will travel to the La Salle Invitational this weekend. The Swarthmore meet was more like an extension of the 90 minute practice that Penn had beforehand, in preparation for this weekend. "We needed to get [the practice] in because we're going into [the invitational]," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "[The swimmers] weren't as speedy as they would've been without the practice, but I think that will also take them into the La Salle meet. I think they swam really strong, not necessarily real fast, but pretty strong in their events."