Swimming teams start year

Fans and alumni of Penn swimming will fill the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center tomorrow to witness the program's annual intrasquad meet.

After nearly a month of official training, both the male and the female squads will hit the pool this Homecoming weekend for their second and final pre-season competition.

Three weeks ago, Penn swimming traveled to the College of New Jersey to start formal competition.

"Our first meet went really well. We brought a lot of new faces along and got a chance to see where everybody fit in," coach Mike Schnur said.

Penn swimming has divided into two teams, each containing a coach and two captains.

A new chapter will be written on Saturday morning as the Red and Blue race each other after a full week of strategizing.

"This meet should be a lot of fun. Some rivalries have been building up, and there has been a lot of trash talking," senior captain Spencer Driscoll said.

This weekend's event serves as the second and final chance for the Red and Blue to work the summer kinks out before their demanding regular season begins.

"I think the kids are a little bored with training right now," Schnur said. "This will give them a chance to get back into a competitive situation that is also fun."

That being said, Schnur's teams understand that Saturday's meet is not to be taken lightly. The intrasquad meet plays a key role in the selection of traveling squads for the regular season.

"Traveling team selections have yet to be made," Schnur said. "This weekend will be our first chance to see some of the newcomers compete and think about where they might fit in."

In addition to the pressure of upcoming travel squad cuts, Penn swimmers will compete this weekend before a crowd of the program's alumni and supporters.

But the work that the Red and Blue have done thus far translates into confidence going into the limelight of Homecoming.

"I'm not nervous at all about swimming in front of the alumni. I think that they will be impressed; we have worked hard already to get to this point," Driscoll said.

Penn men's swimming will take on Ivy league opponents Princeton and Cornell on Nov. 22 to start the regular season. The Red and Blue hope to use Saturday's event to help prepare them for this contest three weeks down the road, which they consider to be one of their most crucial contests.

"Cornell is our rival so we want to whoop 'em good," Driscoll said.

Penn women's swimming will start their regular season a week earlier than the men, making this weekend of even greater importance. The team will take on William & Mary and Richmond on Nov. 16, a contest that coach Schnur believes may be the toughest of the season.

"The women's first meet is going to be one of the most crucial meets of the year," Schnur said.

With important meets looming in the near future for Penn swimming, this weekend's intrasquad meet looks to be a good combination of fierce competition and good clean fun.

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