Penn men's swimming attempting to bounce back against Princeton, Cornell

Penn men’s swimming is looking to show its resilience on Friday as it heads to Princeton for the first conference tri-meet of the season.

The Quakers (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) started off their Ivy season against Columbia in record-breaking fashion with a Uris Pool 200-yard medley relay record. However, Penn was unable to hold onto that momentum and fell to the Lions in their den, 159.5-136.5.

The Red and Blue are hoping to leave Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool on Friday with their first conference win.

Cornell enters the weekend after an impressive performance in Cambridge in their first conference tri-meet against Dartmouth and Harvard. The Big Red (2-1, 1-1) defeated Dartmouth handily, 213-87, and almost knocked off the Crimson — last year’s Ivy champions — in a close 131-169 loss.

Cornell’s biggest strengths this season come from sprint backstroke and distance freestyle. Penn’s roster is similarly stacked in the distance freestyle events, led by junior captain Chris Swanson.

Princeton has yet to face a conference opponent, but had a strong showing at the Ohio State Invitational on Nov. 8. The Tigers walked away with a 136-209 loss to No. 12 Ohio State and a resounding 262-91 win over Division III Denison. After posting quick times in Columbus, Princeton (1-1) appears to be riding high, especially considering that the Quakers have not been able to defeat the Tigers during coach Mike Schnur’s 14 seasons at Penn’s helm.

However, after a third place conference finish in the 2013-14 season, the Red and Blue may be able to upset the Tigers, if not this weekend then perhaps in February. The Quakers’ roster is seasoned, after only graduating three members last year and bringing in one of the most talented freshman classes in program history.

If anything, Friday’s meet will show that no opponent should ever be overlooked ­— especially in the Ivy League.

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