Christmas in Florida brings up a different set of images for the Penn women's swimming team than for the rest of the student body. While most would think of sunshine, beaches and relaxation, the team has images of sunshine, beaches and grueling hours of training.
"I tortured them in Florida," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "They worked as hard as any team I've ever had."
Despite not having a fun vacation in Florida, co-captain Rachel Zappalorti thinks it was worthwhile.
"We know it pays off in the end and we get to see where we're at this weekend," the senior said.
Penn (3-3) will travel to Providence, R.I., this weekend to take on Ivy League powerhouse Brown.
Penn has beaten Brown only once in the last 30 years -- that lone victory came in 1981, before most of the current crop of swimmers was born. This year, however, the Quakers believe things will be different.
"Brown's team is similar to ours," Schnur said.
"If our women step up and are ready to swim tired then we have a good chance," Schnur added.
After years of building up the program to the point that it is competitive in the Ivies, some think this is the year the Quakers can take the next step.
"This would be the year to beat Brown," Zappalorti said. "And I definitely think this team can."
So far the season has been a tremendous success for Penn. With their only losses coming at the hands of Richmond and Ivy League powerhouses Harvard and Princeton. Those losses, however, were not disappointments for Penn.
"Last time we swam was Columbia and Harvard," Schnur said of the dual meet before winter break. It was "one of the best dual meets we've ever swam."
In that meet Penn easily defeated Columbia and lost a close meet to Harvard.
This year the team is led by several veteran seniors including Kathleen Holthaus, Anne Tudryn, Jennifer Block, Megan Daney and Zappalorti.
Early on, however, the sparkplugs of the team have been its standout freshmen Sarah Jeffers and Stephanie Colson -- who have amazed coaches and teammates with their times and finishes in big meets. Last week Colson broke teammate Laura Hotaling's program record in the 50 freestyle.
With freshmen excelling, the Quakers look to compete with the upper-echelon of the Ivies.
"Princeton has always dominated, but we had a great meet against Harvard which shows we can swim with anyone," Zappalorti said.
That's good because Schnur calls the meets like Brown "fun," but not nearly as important as the Ivy League Championships. Every meet from now until the Ivy League Championships start at the end of February will be crucial training meets for Penn.
This weekend the Quakers have a chance to reverse a 22-year losing streak and start on a path toward the league champs.
