Swimming Pre | Aching Quakers take on Lions

Torn labrum. Broken hand. Broken toe. Fill-in-the-blank hip. Fill-in-the-blank foot.

These are just some of the injuries beleaguering Penn's swimming teams. But the Quakers will have to rebound quickly, as the men travel to Columbia for a 7 p.m. meet today, and the women host the Lions on Sunday at 2 p.m.

W. Swimming

A majority of the injuries have affected the women and forced the coaching staff to respond quickly.

"We're hurting," said Mike Schnur, who coaches both teams.

The group beat Columbia in 2006, 187.5-112.5; last season, the Lions had the edge by a similar margin, as Penn struggled with the breaststroke. But with the roster in flux, history might not be an accurate predictor.

The Quakers must find a way to replace senior Lauren Bergstrom (hip) - one of the Quakers' top swimmers in the 100m and 500m frees - and classmate Lindsey Gottschalk (foot), a breaststroke specialist.

And Naomi Delphin, a talented sophomore butterfly and freestyle swimmer, is out with back troubles.

"Naomi is a swimmer who you can't just replace," Schnur said. "She means a lot to this team and losing her - even for a short period of time - is going to be very tough."

Schnur pointed to a trio of freshmen - Casey Barnes-Waychus, Amanda Ackerman and Becca James - that can replace their injured teammates.

The Quakers will also depend on star junior back-stroker Sara Coenen to keep the Lions' talented team at bay. Coenen, a 2008 first team all-Ivy pick, specializes in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke.

"Sara has been a key part of our team," Schnur said.

Columbia's notable returners include senior Hannah Galey, second-team All Ivy in the 50, 100, and 200-yard freestyle events.

M. Swimming

The Quakers men haven't been immune to the injury bug, either.

Freshman Jeff Cragg, the Quakers' prized diving recruit, suffered a broken toe in practice, but he plans to compete on Sunday.

Senior captain Chaz Maul - the team's premier swimmer in the breaststroke - has a broken hand and may not return to action until January.

In addition to Maul, fellow senior captain Steve Martucci will miss his final season with a torn shoulder labrum. He found a way to contribute out of the pool, volunteering as a student coach.

"Steve is very involved and is at every practice," junior butterfly specialist Jack Wiese said "He's been a great leader."

Although the Quakers were very successful against the Lions last season, winning, 185-114, Martucci acknowledged that this meet is different.

"Last year, we came in with a lot of confidence, as we were right off the Kenyon Invite," he said. "This year we are at a different area of our training schedule. We are training right through the Columbia meet, in the sense that our eyes are at our meet at the end of November."

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