Coming off a 2013-14 campaign that saw a third-place finish at Ivies and the breaking of 10 of 14 school records, the Penn men’s team opted for a few quality names to replace its three graduating seniors. The Quakers have become particularly strong in all distances of freestyle over the past several years and seem to be attracting strong training partners for their distance group (featuring amongst others, Ivy champion junior Chris Swanson).
The new freshman class is made up of five national-level swimmers, each of whom is capable of outscoring Penn’s 2014 Ivies average of 38.9 points per person. A couple of them could rattle the Quakers’ record books in the near future.
Hunter Brakovec: Fly/Free • Charlotte, N.C. • Independence High School • New South Swimming
200y fly: 1:49.22 / 200m fly: 2:04.97
400y IM: 3:58.46 / 400m IM: 4:34.98
1650y free: 15:43.92 / 1500m free: 16:23.47
Andrew Drummond: IM/B • Richmond, Va. • Maggie Walker • Poseidon Swimming
400y IM: 3:59.43 / 400m IM: 4:38.06
500y free: 4:32.18 / 400m free: 4:06.58
1000y free: 9:17.84 / 8:28.12
1650y free: 15:40.31 / 16:12.31
200y back: 1:52.50
200y breast: 2:07.08
Alex Peterson: Free/IM • Laguna Hills, Calif. • Laguna Hills High School • AquaZot Swim Club
500y free: 4:28.43 / 400m free: 4:01.55
1000y free: 9:10.34 / 800m free: 8:23.18
1650y free: 15:16.74 / 1500m free: 15:52.13
200y IM: 1:52.19 / 200m IM: 2:05.64
400y IM: 3:54.16 / 400m IM: 4:24.22
Chris Schaffer: IM/Back • Malvern, Pa. • Malvern Prep • Malvern Swimming Association
100y back: 49.29 / 100m back: 58.34
200y back: 1:47.91 / 200m back: 2:09.60
200y IM: 1:50.36 / 200m IM: 2:11.56
Taylor Uselis: Free • Oldsmar, Fla. • Palm Harbor • Clearwater Aquatic Team
200y free: 1:39.63 / 200m free: 1:54.44
500y free: 4:26.79 / 400m free: 4:00.33
1000y free: 9:13.20 / 800m free: 8:21.08
1650y free: 15:28.98 / 1500m free: 15:57.41
Do teams like Penn typically offer scholarships? What % ride do they offer?
Eric,
As a member of the Ivy League, Penn does not give scholarships. All schools in the Ivy League (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale) have agreed not to provide any merit scholarships at all (not for sports, not for academic or artistic achievement…etc.).
They do, however, give rather generous financial aid packages for families who show financial need. You’d be surprised how much you have to make before the Ivy schools consider you no longer have financial need.
But the bottom line is there’s no such thing as “I’m on a swimming scholarship” at an Ivy League school.