Search Results

Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.

Quakers set for biggest meet of season

(03/07/03 10:00am)

It doesn't get any bigger than this. This weekend the Penn men's swim team heads to Hempstead, N.Y., to compete in an event that it has been thinking about since its preseason began last year -- the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League Championships. The EISL Championships pit all eight of the Ivy League schools plus Army and Navy against each other. The meet determines the final Ivy League standings. "The EISL championships are what we build up to all season," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. Last year, Penn finished eighth at the EISL Championships which a year ago were at Harvard. The Quakers completed the weekend with a total of 449 points less than one third the total that Princeton won the title with -- the Tigers had 1,522 points. Penn finished 51 points behind seventh place Navy. Princeton's win marked the first time since 1995 that anyone but Harvard won the title. Princeton also won the championship in 1995. This year, Penn fans have every reason to believe that things will be different. Impressive wins over Notre Dame and Navy this season have provided glimpses of what this team is capable of when it swims to its potential. However, Schnur stresses the importance of using past successes this season as nothing more than impetus for this weekend. "I am happy with how we have performed at points this season, but this is the event that we have been preparing for," Schnur said. The EISLs began yesterday, and with an extremely successful season behind them and almost two full weeks of rest, the top swimmers that Penn has to offer took the water to compete against the top Division I swimmers in the Northeast. Penn senior captain Spencer Driscoll and freshman Pat Maloney headline what is perhaps the strongest squad that Schnur has ever taken to the end-of-the-year championship. "EISLs are the biggest event of the year," Maloney said. "I'm not too nervous right now, but I want to swim well."

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/03/quakers_set_for_biggest_meet_of_season

M. Swimming off to ECAC champs

(02/27/03 10:00am)

The Penn men's swimming team heads to Pittsburgh, Pa. this weekend to compete in the annual Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Starting tomorrow, many Penn swimmers end their successful 2002-2003 season with the three day event at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees pool. Competitors in this weekend's championship must qualify to swim in their respective events by turning in competitive times throughout the year. "This is what we have been training so hard for," Penn freshman Jason Oberman said. "We have been resting the last couple of weeks for this event so that we can finish strong." While Penn coach Mike Schnur is saving some of his top swimmers to ensure a solid performance at the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championships next weekend, he explains that this meet is not to be taken lightly. "This is a great opportunity for some of our guys to finish off their season well," Schnur said. "We want our athletes to perform well in every race that they swim in." The annual championship features swimmers from virtually all of the top northeastern Division I programs. "It's always a good test to go up against guys from some of the bigger programs in the region," Schnur said. That being said, the Red and Blue compete this weekend without the presence of perhaps their biggest motivator -- their head coach. Away at the Ivy League women's championships, Schnur will be with his male squad only in spirit. "It will be a little weird without coach Schnur but hopefully it won't be a big deal," Oberman said. "We have a great assistant coach who will be with us." Penn assistant coach Cathy Holland leads roughly half of Penn's roster into Pittsburgh this weekend, leaving behind the very best that Penn has to offer. Schnur makes the division between Penn's top swimmers according to their times. He then designates the better times to go to the prestigious EISL championships starting on March 6th. The swimmers that are not selected for the event compete this weekend in Pittsburgh, if they have qualified for the meet. "This weekend gives some guys who haven't gotten to an opportunity to compete on a regular basis a chance to swim," Schnur said. While this weekend's team may not offer the program's present best, freshman Tim Howett explains that it could well contain its future top performers. "There are no bad swimmers on this team," Howett said. "The guys that are going this weekend all have the potential to do big things later on in their careers here." This especially applies to the members of Penn's extremely talented freshman class that will compete one last time this semester without having to worry about pacing themselves. "Coach Schnur just told us to go for it," Oberman said.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/02/m-swimming-off-to-ecac-champs

Crimson leave Quakers in their wake

(02/19/03 10:00am)

Going into the meet, the Penn men's swimming team knew about Harvard's status as one of the top teams in the Ivy League and even the country. Quickly learning that Harvard lived up to its billing, Penn used Saturday's season finale as a learning experience in the Crimson's 220-80 shellacking. "We know that these are the guys that we are going to have to deal with at Eastern Finals, so it was good to see how close our guys are," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. The Quakers entered the meet after two consecutive wins, looking to hand Harvard an upset at Sheerr Pool and head in to the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming Championships on a win streak. Though a win did not look promising, the meet represented a chance to honor the team's four seniors. "It was good to see all of the parents in the stands supporting the seniors in their last meet here," Schnur said. Although generally outclassed by Crimson reserves, the Quakers eked out four second-place finishes on the day. Junior Shaun Lehrer took second in the 1650 freestyle, senior Chris Miller in the 100 breaststroke and junior Andrew Trout in the 50 freestyle.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/02/crimson_leave_quakers_in_their_wake

Faster than a speeding bullet

(02/05/03 10:00am)

Watching the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney three summers ago, it was clear what a world-class swimmer is supposed to look like. Tall, muscular and sleek, their wiry figures enable them to glide through the water with a grace many think unattainable with a different body type. They are wrong. When you talk to Penn swimming coach Mike Schnur about his star freshman Pat Maloney, visions of grandeur abound. "Pat is an extremely gifted swimmer," Schnur said. "He has the kind of innate ability that some kids are just born with." Schnur's sentiments combine with Maloney's already impressive results to paint a picture of an almost super-human athlete. The picture stands a slender 6-foot-4 with knuckles that drag along the pool deck, one envisions Maloney calmly stepping into a phone booth to change before plunging into the pool without sound or splash. If you have never seen Pat Maloney, you might be surprised when you finally do. At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, the class of 2006's top swimming recruit is anything but what you'd expect. "He is a little short," Schnur admits. "Pat has to work really hard to compete with guys that have a longer build." Watching Pat from the stands of Penn's Sheerr pool, it is not just his ability that sets him apart. In a sport where athletes routinely shave their bodies in order to cut fractions of a second off their times, Maloney sports a full beard. But while Pat may not seem a typical poster boy for Schnur's program, his abilities may propel him to the cover of more than a few media guides. Growing up in New Brunswick, N.J., Maloney joined a club swimming program run out of Rutgers University called the Scarlet Aquatic Center. By the time Pat entered Saint Joseph's High School, swimming had emerged as his primary sport. Enabling him to swim with and against the best young swimmers in the area, Maloney explains that his affiliation with the program made him the swimmer that he is today. "My coach Ryan Brown taught me so much," Maloney said. "We also got to swim against some of the college guys in the summer." Balancing a complete high school season with the demands of an almost year-round club schedule, Maloney emerged as one of the the nation's most talented middle-distance swimmers. "Pat was a top recruit in our league and with many other top programs in the country," Schnur said. Part of Maloney's allure was the niche that he has found within his sport. Capitalizing on his strong endurance, he specializes in the longest event of arguably swimming's hardest stroke -- butterfly.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/02/faster_than_a_speeding_bullet

M. Swimming to face weak La Salle

(01/31/03 10:00am)

Penn men's swimming takes on La Salle at noon tomorrow at Kirk Pool. Although this year's annual meeting with the significantly weaker Explorers pales in comparison to their previous opponents, the Quakers remain focused on the task at hand. "They are not as good as we are." Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "But we have to take everybody seriously." When the Penn men's swimming team took the pool against Army just three weeks ago, they needed a win. Coming off three straight losses to Ivy League opponents, the prospect of facing the struggling Cadets was a welcome one. However, the Quakers' 131-110 victory on Jan. 11 served not as a brief taste of success for the Red and Blue, but rather as a springboard for a string of some of the most impressive wins in the program's history. "Last weekend was such a huge step for our team." freshman Pat Maloney said. Tomorrow, the Red and Blue swim against yet another lull in their roller coaster schedule. However, this time they bring with them considerable momentum. On a four-meet win streak, the Quakers race tomorrow against a group of swimmers who are outmatched in almost every event. With that said, the job for the Quakers becomes one of a more mental nature. "We are still going to have to swim well against them," Schnur said. Putting things into perspective, taking care of business tomorrow is essential if Penn is going to get back on track in the Ancient Eight. With a meet against national powerhouse Harvard just a week away, and the major Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League championships looming in the not-so-distant future, Schnur and company cannot afford another slump. While things look good on paper, Penn must use this weekend to take another step forward and not backward.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/01/m-swimming-to-face-weak-la-salle

Quakers set for trio of meets this weekend

(01/16/03 10:00am)

To call this a big weekend for the Penn men's swimming team would be an understatement. Starting Friday night at 6 p.m., Sheerr Pool plays host to three consecutive meets, each of them which will provide Penn (1-3, 0-3 Ivy) some of its toughest competition of the season. "This weekend is going to be a blood bath" Penn senior Chris Miller said in an e-mail. Penn's marathon begins Friday night when it takes on powerhouse Notre Dame (1-2). Back in the water by 12 p.m. the next day, Penn will then race against Navy. The weekend's competition concludes as it faces off against Ivy League rival Brown on Sunday. "This is a huge weekend for us." Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "Having the opportunity to compete against such high quality programs is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our kids." Coming off a demanding eight-day Florida training camp and their first win of the 2002-2003 season less than a week ago against Army, the Red and Blue will look to ride whatever momentum they have recently generated into this weekend. "The Army meet was a big one for us, not only for our record, but for our self-esteem as well," Miller said. While this past week's win over the Cadets served as chicken soup for the souls of the Penn swimmers, this weekend's menu may prove slightly less appetizing. "All three teams that we face this weekend are better than us on paper," Schnur said. This week, early concessions from Schnur are not surprising. Last year, Navy and Brown each easily handled Penn, besting the Red and Blue by a combined 108 points. As for the Fighting Irish, a program offering athletic scholarships and top-notch facilities to their athletes, their meeting with the Quakers serves as a bright spot in their already demanding Big East schedule. Although Penn's 131-110 edging of Army seems a potential source of false confidence, Schnur explains that it may have helped his team find a formula for success. "We beat Army because we controlled the events that we are strongest in," Schnur said. Winning the events that they are supposed to win will be key this weekend for the Red and Blue against statistically better teams. Schnur will rely on upperclassmen leadership combining with the talent of his freshman class to compete against Notre Dame's Big East athletes. Freshman phenom Pat Maloney will need to build on his outstanding performance against Army, where he came home with three top-place finishes in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 200 butterfly. No epic sports clash is complete without a big name opponent. This weekend, Brown's Jefferson Moors certainly fits that bill. Coming off two first-place finishes in Brown's recent meet with Princeton, Schnur explains that Moors will be a tough opponent on Sunday. "Jefferson Moors is just a guy that we have no answer for." Schnur said. "We will look to win the races that he is not competing in." While individual talent is important for the Red and Blue this weekend, Schnur is quick to point out that the success of every team competing will be dictated by its depth. "We are going to need a strong performance from every single member of this team," Schnur said. Where outsiders foresee tragedy for Penn's team, its members see opportunity. "The team has been looking forward to this weekend all year, and we are confident that we will show the Ivy League that we mean business," Miller said. "Just because we have a 1-3 record doesn't mean that we are not capable of beating some of the best teams in the league." Miller politely reminds the critics that meets are not won and lost on paper but rather, in the pool.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/01/quakers_set_for_trio_of_meets_this_weekend

PennConnects