Quakers break even at Sheerr Pool

Forty-eight was this weekend's magic number for the Penn women's swim team. A 48-point margin catapulted the Quakers (7-2, 6-2 Ivy) to victory over Navy on Saturday, 172-124. Unfortunately for Penn, a loss by that same 48-point margin snapped the worn-out Quakers' five-meet winning streak on Sunday, as they lost to Brown, 145-97. "I was actually really amazed at how well we swam unrested," co-captain Jessica Anders said. "But whenever you have back-to-back meets, it's hard to pull it together despite being so tired." As Penn women's swimming coach Mike Schnur predicted, the key ingredient in the Quakers' triumph over the Midshipmen was depth. "It's not only the quality of the first two women in each event but the quality of all our women," Schnur said. The squad placed first, second and third in five of the day's events -- the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 200 backstroke and 200 breast. Setting a swift pace from the start, the team of Megan Daney, Anne Tudryn, Robyn Harm and Laura Hotaling exploded past the Midshipmen in the 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:48.90 -- almost two seconds ahead of Navy. The Red and Blue would continue this winning streak in the next nine events, missing first place in only three events on the day. Anders turned in two stellar performances, winning both the 200 free in 1:54.91 and the 100 free in 54.65. "My performance really built up my confidence for the rest of the season," Anders said. "We just had really great swims across the board." Freshman Erica Gentilucci also captured two first-place finishes in the 200 back in 2:10.05 and the 200 individual medley in 2:11.41. "As a freshman, I don't really know too much about college competition, so I was definitely happy to win," Gentilucci said. Kathleen Holthaus, Alexis Underwood and Katie Coxe also grabbed top spots in the 1000 free in 10:16.30, 200 fly in 2:08.46 and 200 breast in 2:28.45, respectively. Individually, Daney and Tudryn nabbed first place in the 100 back in 59.23 and 100 breast in 1:06.94, respectively. On Sunday, the tables were turned, as the exhausted Quakers suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of Brown. "It was really a shame to lose to Brown because we trained so hard," Schnur said. "But in reality, I was really surprised at how well we did considering the fact that we were not at full strength." The Brown squad proved too much for Penn to handle on Sunday, as the Bears placed first in all but four events. "It would have been nice to win, but at this point, [having a record of] seven and two is amazing," Anders said. "As a freshman, I only dreamed of us being so good." Daney picked up a pair of victories in the 200 backstroke (2:06.55) and the 200 IM (2:09.12). Holthaus and Tudryn claimed first place in the 1000 freestyle in 10:18.13 and the 200 breast in 2:22.97, respectively. "Our goal for the season was to go 10-3 and have a winning Ivy record," Schnur said. "We haven't gone 10-3 in the history of the program, and we haven't had a winning Ivy season in almost 15 years." The Quakers will have the opportunity to clinch a winning Ivy record when they travel to Hanover, N.H. this weekend to take on Dartmouth and Yale in a double dual meet. "It's really rewarding to see how far we've come," Anders said. "Three years ago, we were the last team in the Ivy League. It's such a wonderful feeling to see how much we've changed."

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