W. Swimming set to take on Cadets

The students of the US Military Academy live a completely different life than any normal college student could ever imagine.

As for the lives of the Cadet athletes -- these servicemen's dedication to their sport rival that of almost any other group of people in the country.

This Saturday, Army will put this unity to the test when the Cadets visit Sheerr Pool for the annual swimming encounter.

"They have so many other things on their minds, that are on such more important levels than just class and swimming," Penn sophomore Hilary North said.

Even when war has not gripped the national consciousness, the day of a Cadet has always been harder and longer than any student in the country.

Emotional baggage about friends fulfilling their mandatory four years of service is simply another weight that every Cadet must bear.

"I think our men's and women's teams have both had a lot of respect for the athletes of the Military Academy and have always had that same respect, no matter what's going on in the world," Penn coach Mike Schnur said. "People who go to Army are sacrificing themselves for the greater good of the country -- everybody has respect for that."

Penn, meanwhile, returns to Saturday's meet after its week of five-hour-per-day practices in Florida.

While this training will almost certainly benefit the Quakers when the Ivy League championships arrive at the end of February -- every swim program in the country has its hardest practices during winter break in order to build for their championship meets -- the quick return from winter break may affect Penn slightly against the Cadets.

"They are going to be tired," Schnur said. "The hard work they're doing is definitely going to hurt them in the short term, in the sense that they're going to be tired."

The Quakers also came off a week of tough practices before they competed against Cornell and Princeton, and posted several personal bests -- including a school record from Katie Frazee -- but the training in Florida may be tougher to overcome.

"Because we were just focusing on training, it did make it harder -- because we had nothing else to think about," sophomore sprinter Linda Fescoe said. "So we were working harder in our minds, even though physically we may not have been working any harder than normal."

Army features backstroker and individual medley specialist Stacy Kalota, sprinter Ashley Delavelle and freshman diver Sara Get.

Against Holy Cross, Get defeated Kim Rinaldi, last year's Patriot League Championship's "Diver of the Meet."

Overall, Penn holds an advantage over the Cadets in almost every event, except diving, and possess greater depth than the Cadets, as well.

"It may be an opportunity for people who maybe don't swim as much in the lineup to get in the lineup," Holthaus said. "I think it will depend on how the meet's going, as the meet goes along."

The Penn and Army women's swimming teams will face off on Saturday at noon at Sheerr Pool.

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