Swimming swept in New York

Until this past Saturday, the Penn men's swimming squad had entertained hopes of finishing the season with a winning record in the Ivy League -- a feat which has not been accomplished in the last eight seasons. Sadly, the Quakers narrowly missed keeping those hopes alive on Saturday in New York against Columbia, dropping a heartbreaking meet, 124-117. The Quakers (8-8, 2-4) faced a must-win situation if they were to maintain the possibility of a winning season among the Ancient Eight. Though they succeeded in capturing 6 of the 13 events, the Red and Blue lost on the final diving event, when freshman Matt Cornell came up short against three strong Columbia divers. In addition to the competition's importance for Penn's overall record, members of the team were also vying for much-coveted spots at the Eastern Championships at Harvard in March. Because the team will send only 17 swimmers and two divers to the season-ending meet, the competition for spots is fierce, and those desiring one of the few remaining spaces had to perform well on Saturday. Between now and that final tournament, Penn faces only one more meet, against Harvard on February 20 at Scheerr Pool. Though Penn can no longer finish the year with a winning record in the Ivies, the swimmers will still give their all against the Crimson, hoping to upset one of the best teams in the league. This final regular season meet will also offer the opportunity for several members of the team to showcase their skills and earn a berth at the Easterns. Also faced with an inordinately difficult weekend, women's swimming competed against Columbia on Friday in New York and Harvard on Sunday at home. Mired in a disappointing season, the Quakers (6-12, 0-7) dropped both meets against their Ivy opponents -- 183-108 to Columbia and 216-84 to Harvard. Understandably, the team members found it difficult to gear up for two events in the same weekend. The grueling schedule "was definitely a lot tougher than usual," senior Lauren Ballough said. Hard for everyone on the team, it took its toll especially on the "younger swimmers who have not had to do that [type of schedule] before." Just as predicted before the weekend, Penn suffered from having only one diver, freshman Kathie Dykes. The Quakers' relative inexperience compared to their opponents also puts the Red and Blue at a disadvantage -- this squad boasts the largest freshman class in Penn history. For much of the Penn squad, these meets are looked at as an opportunity to gain experience and learn enough to improve their performance at the next meet and in the coming season. "We've finalized who's going [to Easterns] and now it's just a matter of focusing [on them] and resting up," junior Jennifer Walsh said. However, feelings were much different among those seniors on the squad, whose final career meet will be the women's Easterns at Princeton in late February. "I didn't realize our last meet would be such an emotional event," Ballough said. "But now we're just focusing all our energy on competing the last time for Penn."