So much for first-meet jitters.
Bolstered by one of the best freshman classes in Penn women's swimming history and the overall depth of the team, the Quakers inched past Richmond with a 152.5-147.5 win at Sheerr Pool on Saturday.
Richmond quickly jumped out on top of the Quakers in the first two events, the medley relay and the 1,000 free, but strong performances by the Red and Blue's freshmen in later races helped Penn bridge the gap.
"The only reason we won the meet [on Saturday] was because of our depth," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "We had some people who were a little off [on Saturday] and we had backups who could step up in their place. We are a very deep team."
The meet's result ultimately came down to the second and third swimmers in the events.
"When you lose a close meet, it highlights the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes rather than the firsts," Richmond coach Matthew Kredlich said. "If any one person moves up a place, that's a change of two points. We lost too many close races, and Penn's a very good team."
In its first collegiate meet, Penn's celebrated freshman class quickly rose to the challenge. Freshmen won five of the meet's 11 individual races.
First-year swimmer Katie Stores burst onto the scene in the 200-yard freestyle by grabbing a first-place finish in 1:53.08 seconds, just eight-hundredths of a second away from the school record. She followed that up with another win in the 50 freestyle.
"I was really nervous coming in because I didn't know what to expect," Stores said. "I was just going in hoping to do my best."
Two wins and a hairbreadth finish from a Penn record -- Schnur will take Stores' "best" any day of the week.
Yet while Stores' performances in the freestyle started Penn's momentum during the meet, Katie Frazee's performances in both the 100 and 200 backstroke may have stolen the overall show.
In the 200 backstroke, Frazee raced to victory in 2:07.2 seconds, just six-tenths of a second away from the school record. Her first-place time in the 100 backstroke was 58.99 seconds.
"She's only limited by what she conceives she can do," Schnur said. "That girl could be one of the best backstrokers in this league real fast."
Penn freshman Alexis Underwood also added a win in the 100 butterfly.
With talent abounding in every event, Penn has shown early in the year that it has the ability to win close meets by utilizing every member of the team.
"From the person in lane three to the person in lane one, we were counting on everybody," sophomore Kathleen Holthaus said.
