Two easy victories for M. Swimming

The Penn men's swimming team is enjoying a nonchalant shrug after its victories in Saturday's dual meet against La Salle and Duquesne. There is always a chance that a team's confidence in its own superiority can backfire, and be labeled overconfidence in hindsight. But so far this season the Quakers have been on target in predicting their chances of winning. Penn came out ahead of La Salle, 132.5-101.5, and blew Duquesne out of the water, 162-53. "This was a chance to relax," coach Mike Schnur said. "For all intents and purposes, we ended our dual-meet season against Brown two weeks ago. That was the last meet that mattered." The Quakers were sure enough of their edge this weekend to train hard up to the meet, whereas they would normally rest in anticipation of stiffer competition. The real competition for members of the Red and Blue was internal. "We used to have one guy who was fast in an event but now we have two or three," Penn junior Gabe Tompkins said. "It takes the pressure off of the top guy and adds confidence to everyone swimming." And the Quakers displayed that confidence, sweeping multiple events. On Saturday, the 200-yard backstroke was won by freshman Barry Chan. Sophomore Chris Miller followed closely in second and freshman Adam Smith took third. The 1,000 freestyle also featured two Penn swimmers finishing one-two, with freshman Todd Hutchinson grabbing first and sophomore Spencer Driscoll touching in second. The Quakers' dominance continued in the 500 freestyle, where Penn freshman Eric Hirschorn nailed first place, followed by sophomore Mark Czeterko. Junior captain Ian Bowman took fourth and freshman Matt Hand stole fifth. With only one Explorer even making the top five in this event, the Quakers only had each other as competition. The situation was similar in the 200 IM, where Penn freshman Adam Smith came in first with a time of 1:58.88. Close behind Smith were teammates Ian Bowman (third place) and Brendan Lang (fourth). While defeating La Salle did not prove difficult for the Quakers, the Explorers still displayed two impressive sprinters -- seniors Mitch Zackowski and Michael McGinnis. Zackowski and McGinnis -- who both wore full-body suits to the meet -- took first and second, respectively, in both the 50 and 100 free. The Explorers, however, could not match the Quakers' talent and depth. Penn's last two meets are against Harvard on February 17, and at West Point, N.Y., for the Eastern Championships the following weekend.

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