W. Swimming | Penn streaking against La Salle

And so the streak continues.

As has been the case for the past five years, the Penn women's swimming team emerged triumphant in its meet against La Salle, this time winning, 169-130, last night. The Quakers made the short trip up Broad Street last night to swim against the Explorers at their own Kirk Pool.

Although it seemed extremely likely on paper that the Red and Blue would come away with the win, the meet was by no means an easy victory. The Quakers had to deal with numerous injuries currently plaguing the squad, as well as the lack of a few vital swimmers due to class conflicts. This led to an exciting night for Penn.

"It was a good close meet the whole night," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "We were fortunate to win."

This success was due in large part to the Red and Blue's group of distance freestylers, including juniors Stephanie Nerby and Andrea Balint, and sophomore Naomi Delphin, to name a few. The meet featured a new format with an emphasis on shorter races, something to which the Quakers are not accustomed.

"It was an exciting meet in general," Nerby said. "We weren't used to the [50-yard races]. The longer events were where we really started to get them."

Freshman breaststroker Laura Klick also posted another impressive performance, winning both the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke events. Schnur had been looking forward to seeing how she would perform in both of these races against Shannon Duval, a standout breaststroker for the Explorers (5-5). Surprisingly, Duval only competed in the 50 breaststroke.

Last night marked Penn's last dual meet of the regular season. The women's team ends the season with a 5-6 overall record, 2-5 in the Ivies. The Quakers will now focus all of their attention on the Ivy Championships, which will take place in East Meadow, N.Y., Feb. 26-28.

"We are now going to start to taper and rest before Ivies," Nerby said. "I think we are really prepared and going to do really well."

Only time will tell if Nerby is right. But as for now, the Quakers are probably wishing that La Salle were part of the Ivy League.

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