Although the boundaries between the arts and athletics are usually clearly defined at the college level, the Penn men's swimming team has reason to anticipate some theatrics this weekend when they race against Brown in Providence, R.I.
"Last year, he threw a big tantrum on deck," said senior tri-captain Todd Hutchison of Brown coach Peter Brown. Because some of the Penn athletes had shaved for the meet, Brown screamed at the Penn coaches from across the deck.
"There's a lot of animosity," senior tri-captain Shaun Lehrer said. "There's a certain respect you give at athletic events and unfortunately he hasn't learned it."
The tension exists both in the water and out. Brown and Penn have been highly competitive over the past few years.
"We've had some pretty close meets," Hutchison said.
And after last year's embarrassing incident that coincided with a win for the Quakers, Brown will be even more eager to beat the Quakers in their home pool. Not only does Brown have home advantage, but the Bears are so anxious to beat Penn that they are taking extra measures.
"They're resting so they can beat us," Lehrer said.
Brown's choice to rest before the before the meet will be especially useful for their sprinters. But the Quakers are unfazed.
"The sprinters had some good training over break," Lehrer said. "They may be resting, but our guys have more talent."
In addition to the disadvantage of racing a team that is resting for the meet, Penn will have to cope with being the away team.
"We have to sit on a bus for five hours, but hopefully we'll be able to get enough time in the pool to get that out of our system," Hutchison said. "Everything that goes along with being the away team will be a challenge."
Fortunately for Penn, the Quakers have had some experience recently swimming in another pool when they trained in Boca Raton over break. The training trip was beneficial for Penn in and out of the water.
"During the break it was a big turnaround," Lehrer said. "A lot of guys stepped up and really pushed themselves."
"As a team we've gotten a lot stronger and a lot closer to one another," Hutchison said.
The training trip has made the Quakers even more ready to get back in the pool after a long hiatus from competition. They have not raced since November because their Dec. 5 meet against Columbia was postponed due to inclement weather.
"We're looking forward to getting back in the pool and racing people," Hutchison said.
And they are ready to start out the second half season in a meet with high stakes.
"We know who their strong guys are," Lehrer said. "But there is nothing that will dissuade us from putting it all on the line."
