The girls' swim team spent 10 days in Boca Raton, Fla., over winter break. But the trip was anything but a vacation.
The Quakers practiced in the pool for two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon, and also had dry land workouts every day.
In the middle of their toughest training period, they also competed in outdoor meets against Brown, Florida Atlantic and Millersville, losing only to FAU.
But when they returned home to Penn, the Red and Blue suffered a 199-96 loss to Harvard, a meet in which a Crimson swimmer took first in all 14 events.
Coach Mike Schnur said the meet against Harvard was "not representative of our abilities."
This Saturday, the girls hope to turn things around in a tri-meet against Dartmouth and Yale in New Haven.
They are entering the second half of the season in the best shape they'll be in all year.
"We should be pretty strong," said co-captain Katharine Donohue. "It will be a competitive meet against Yale but we're not really worried about Dartmouth."
Schnur added, "We are close to our apex."
However, he was more hesitant about declaring victory against Dartmouth, calling the Big Green a much-improved team this year. They defeated Boston University last weekend.
He agreed with Donohue, though, that Yale will pose a challenge.
In 2006, Penn defeated the Elis for the first time in 20 years. Last year, Yale resumed its domination over the Quakers, beating them yet again.
Yale also has one of the nation's oldest pools, built in 1932, which gives the Elis. a competitive edge.
"Yale is a tough place to swim because the pool is so old," said Schnur. "Their girls have a great advantage when they swim at home."
Unlike more modern facilities, Yale's pool has flat walls, making turns in the water more difficult on visiting teams who don't get to practice on it as often as Yale's swimmers.
In addition, the warm up pool is three floors above the one used for competition and difficult to access.
Schnur also added the gymnasium that houses the pool is "very cold."
Yet, with Ivy Championships a little over a month away, Schnur is not placing particular focus on any one meet.
"All I care about is that they swim the best times at championships," he said.
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