In a tight contest between two of the Ivy League's best teams, it was the freshmen for both Penn and Princeton who had the greatest impact.
The Penn women lost in a surprisingly close meet to the 25th-ranked Tigers, 157-138, but easily defeated Cornell, 234-66, Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y., in a meet that showed that the Quakers (3-2, 1-1 Ivy) can compete with the Ivy League's elite.
"We went in with no expectations, but the girls just let it go, and they were terrific," coach Mike Schnur said.
The men did not fare as well, struggling to keep up with Ivy powerhouse Cornell (223-77) and Princeton (243-57). The Big Red (5-0, 5-0 Ivy), No. 2 in the CSCAA Division I Mid-Major Rankings, defeated No. 1 Princeton (3-3, 1-1 Ivy), 160-140. Already having beaten Harvard, Cornell is now poised to become the first Ivy champion other than the Tigers or Crimson since 1983-84.
Despite the Penn women's own progress, the meet was really an Ivy League coming-out party for each teams' impressive freshman classes.
Alicia Aemisegger got Princeton (4-1, 2-0 Ivy) off to a great start. The highly touted freshman helped the Tigers win the 200-yard medley relay, then went on to win the next two events - the 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle.
With a time of 4:11.52 in the 400-yard IM, the Tigers freshman broke Cornell's pool record by over eight seconds and won the race by 18.
Aemisegger "is one of the best freshmen in America and one of the best swimmers in the world," Schnur said. Princeton "won the meet because of her."
Not to be outdone, Penn's freshmen responded by helping the Quakers win the next five races.
Sara Coenen, Penn's own record-breaking rookie, won the 100-yard backstroke in 57.12, breaking another Cornell pool record. She also set a pool record while winning the 200-yard backstroke in 2:01.41.
"This didn't even surprise me - this is how good she is," Schnur said.
Stephanie Nerby, another Quakers freshman, won the 200-yard butterfly at 2:06.88.
"Stephanie probably had the best meet of anyone on our team," Schnur said.
Yet another freshman, Lauren Brandes, added her own contribution, winning the 50-yard freestyle at 24.29.
Though the score would not indicate it, the Penn men's team swam its best meet so far this year, according to Schnur.
"We just kind of ran into a storm," Schnur said, referring to the intense contest between Cornell and Princeton for Ivy League supremacy.
Among the top finishers for the Red and Blue was junior Devon Carr, who came in fourth in the 500-yard freestyle, at 4:45.14, and fifth in the 200-yard butterfly, with a time of 1:54.30.
Sophomore Ben Gan finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, and senior Alex Silvester took fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
"Our guys were there to compete with pride and race the best they could to prepare for La Salle and the Nike Kenyon Invitational," Schnur said. "Cornell and Princeton were focusing on this meet, while for us the focus of first semester is the Kenyon meet."
Both Penn teams compete next Tuesday at La Salle.
