Swim teams to clash with unfamiliar foes at Kenyon Invitational

This weekend the Penn men and women's swimming teams will see a break from their normal Ivy League or northeast corridor rivals when they compete in the Kenyon Invitational in Gambier, Ohio, today through Saturday.

Instead, the men will face host Kenyon College, Johns Hopkins, Washington and Lee and Wabash College. The women will face Kenyon, JHU and Kansas.

The new opponents should add some excitement to the meet, since they are a break from traditional opponents.

"It's going to be a great opportunity for us to compete against some teams that we never see," coach Mike Schnur said. "In the Ivy League, it's the same teams at the dual meets and championships, and quite frankly it gets a little boring."

Swimming against some new teams motivates the swimmers as well.

"It's going to be really exciting to compete against these teams, since it's something we've never done," women's co-captain Cammie Villarreal said. "It lets us know how we are in the national scheme of things. It's important to go to this kind of meet since you compete against other swimmers out there."

Not only are these fresh opponents, but the quality of competition will be high.

"Kenyon is very good," Schnur said. "They've won 27 straight Division III championships, which is an NCAA record for all divisions and sports. Johns Hopkins has a great crop of swimmers. Washington and Lee has four or five guys as good as ours, but they're not quite as deep. It should be a very competitive meet."

The other women's teams should also go head-to-head against some tough competition, especially Kansas.

"The Johns Hopkins women aren't as good as their men, but it's an amazing opportunity for us to compete against the University of Kansas," Schnur said.

"They're a full scholarship, Big 12 program, and they are bringing some very talented female swimmers. The Kenyon team is also very good, since they've won 20 out of the last 23 D-III championships."

A strong effort may also help the teams to gain some momentum heading into the second half of the season.

"The first goal is to win the meet, but on top of that I'd like to post our best times," men's co-captain Brandon Thompson said.

"Maybe if we do well we can put some fear into the teams we have to swim next semester."

In addition to new and competitive teams, the tournament's format also provides incentive for the Quakers to compete.

"It's a similar set up to championship meets since it's trials and finals," Villarreal said. "That in it of itself gets people really excited."

In this format, races are held in the morning, with the best swimmers competing again later in the evening.

And if everything goes according to plan, quite a few Penn swimmers will be returning at night.

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