M. Swimming looks to beat another miitary academy

The Penn men's swimming team will have to successfully navigate the waters at the United States Naval Academy if it has hopes of continuing its winning ways through the weekend. When they welcome the Quakers tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., the Midshipmen will present a formidable obstacle to a Penn winning streak that has stretched its last four meets. The Red and Blue have had a very strong season thus far, sporting a 5-1 record that includes last week's victory over Army, the Quakers' first over the Cadets in 25 years. Navy has proven itself superior to Penn in the past, easily defeating the Quakers the last several years. However, this is not the Penn team of the last few years, nor for that matter the last 25 years. A strong senior class and a good recruiting class have propelled the Red and Blue to a new level. This weekend's meet will be an indication of just how far the Quakers have come. "They have some strong events that we will probably not win," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "[The difference this year] is that there are guys that can compete in any event that I put them in. I'm hoping to steal a few events in the beginning and shake their confidence." Penn and Navy have similar records going into this weekend. Both squads have already recorded victories over Cornell and Army. Penn has lost to Princeton, and Navy has dropped a pair to Harvard and Yale. Naturally, the Quakers are cautious about their chances for tomorrow. "I think we'll battle them. We're going to be a lot closer than we have been in the last three or four years," Schnur said. "But it's a tough one -- we've always got a chance." This year might be a rare opportunity for Penn to strike back at opponents that have eluded them in the past. The Quakers will graduate five seniors this year that have been instrumental in this season's success, and it may be years before Penn is able to rebuild a team this strong. But Schnur doesn't think so. "It will not help out for [recruiting] this year. It always takes a year to get a reputation out," Schnur said. "It will make a big difference for next year, [the recruits] looking at Penn as a top-five team, not a bottom-five team." It may actually take more than one year to get a reputation out. Penn is battling against a history of futility -- the Quakers have compiled just five winning seasons in the Ivy League since World War II. If the Quakers can pull off a win against Navy, however, they might be able to start offering recruits a chance to swim for an Ivy contender.