Senior Virginia Burns has had a lot of success recently, including two wins against Army last weekend.
Credit: Ananya ChandraAfter a major victory last weekend at Scheer pool, Penn swimming and diving is looking to continue its winnings against the West Chester Rams this Friday.
As it is the Quakers' last dual meet of the 2017-18 season, Penn is hoping to end on a high note before the finale at the Ivy League Championships in February.
Last year's Ivy League Championships saw great success for both teams, with the men taking second place and the women taking fourth place — the former's best finish in more than 40 years, and the latter tying their best result in school history.
And with only three weeks remaining before this year's championship meet, both squads are looking to swim their personal records to prepare themselves for the competition that is ahead.
Both the women’s and men’s teams for West Chester appear to be doing well, albeit against Division II competition, with respective 10-1 and 8-3 records. Both squads have experienced several win streaks in their season, with the women currently holding a five-meet win streak coming into Friday’s race.
However, with the Quakers rolling off huge wins against West Point last weekend, morale is high and they are ready for this weekend's tuneup. Last weekend, the men’s squad (5-4, 2-4 Ivy) set two pool records behind star Mark Andrew, while the women (5-5, 3-4) won 10 individual events, so the Rams have some competition heading their way as well.
In addition to Andrew's record-setting effort in the 400-yard Individual Medley, last weekend also saw the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Andrew, Nathaniel Cunnan, Mark Blinstrub and Thomas Dillinger break a Sheerr Pool record. On the women’s side, though no records fell, senior Virginia Burns excelled as always by winning both the 100 and 200 freestyle.
With a positive upswing in their season, the Quakers have to use this adrenaline to defeat their last non-conference foe. Friday evening is the Quakers' last chance to get into top form — next time the Red and Blue see the water, it'll be before the entire league in the all-important Ivy championship.
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