After losing three straight meets on the road, Penn men’s swimming is looking forward to returning to its home pool, where the team defeated Columbia for its first and only victory this season.
Before the team’s return to Sheerr Pool Jan. 9, where it will take on perennial Ivy League powerhouse Harvard (3-0 Ivy), the Quakers will travel to North Miami Beach, Fla., to compete against Brown on Jan. 5.
Although Harvard, last season’s Ivy League runner-up, is definitely a tougher opponent than Brown (1-1 Ivy), both the breaststroke and diving events will have a strong impact on the Quakers’ outcome in both meets.
Breaststroke should be a strong area for the Quakers (1-2 Ivy), where they are led by sophomore Brendan McHugh, who is coming off victories in both the 100- and 200-breaststroke at the Nike Invitational earlier this month.
He should repeat in both events in Florida, but will be pushed by Connor Carlucci and Michael McVicker of Brown, and Owen Wurzbacher of Harvard.
Diving will also be a battle in each of these meets. Sophomore diver, Jeff Cragg, faces CJ Kambe of Brown, who finished just ahead of Cragg at last season’s EISL Swimming & Diving Championships in the 1 meter diving final.
Against Harvard, Cragg will face freshman Michael Stanton who was a two-time All-American in high school and has already become a leader for the Harvard diving team.
Facing one of the best and one of the worst teams in the Ivy League should be a good barometer for the Quakers, who hope to finish in the top three.
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