Penn State Opens Season with Wins at West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, WV, October 19. PENN State had fourteen different women and nine different men take part in first place finishes as the Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept West Virginia in their season openers last Thursday.

The school's report on the meet claimed team balance and freshman played important roles as the Nittany Lion women won 182-58, while the men won 150-93 to win their first season opener since the 2000-2001 season.

Six freshmen made the lineup for Penn State, with four coming away with at least one first-place finis.

The Nittany Lions will be back in action when they hold their home opener against the defending ACC men's and women's champions, Virginia, 12 p.m. Oct. 30.

Sophomore Nikki Collins (Carmel, Ind.), sophomore Erin Morris (Ft. Wayne, Ind.), senior Alison Riccobono (Ypsilanti, Mich.), senior Jennifer Eberst (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and senior Larissa Kavchok (Emmaus, Pa.) all picked up two wins for the Penn State women.

Junior Shawn McLin (Sinking Spring, Pa.), freshman Kyle Miranda (Louisville, Colo.), freshman Sean Biedermann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and junior Adam Pierce (Conroe, Texas) all had two wins for the men.

Collins picked up wins in the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 52.72 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 4:54.36.

Morris took first place in the 200 IM (2:06.79) and the 200 backstroke (2:02.51).

Riccobono swept the diving events. She won on the 1-meter board with
257.325, which is a national qualifying score, and on the 3-meter board with 259.20. Senior Corey Pagnotta (Westport, Conn.) took second in both events with 241.05 on the 1-meter board and a 241.95 on the 3-meter board.

Eberst teamed up with freshman Lauren Preyss (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), senior Lauren Semchyshen (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Kavchok to win the 400 freestyle relay in 3:32.44. Eberst also won the 200 butterfly (2:06.54) and Kavchok won the 100 freestyle (52.96).

Also picking up wins for the Nittany Lions were sophomore Margy Keefe (Cincinnati, Ohio) in the 1000 freestyle (10:08.99), sophomore Genie Cheng (Oak Park, Calif.) in the 50 freestyle (24.39) and senior Kristen Woodring (Sinking Spring, Pa.) in the 200 breaststroke (2:23.55).

The Penn State women got it all started with a win in the 400 medley relay. Senior Sara Shepherd (Nazareth, Pa.), senior Deirdre Dlugonski (Washington, Pa.), junior Sarah Haupt (Carlisle, Pa.) and senior Courtney Stanchock (Bloomsburg, Pa.) finished with a time of 4 minutes, 22.23 seconds.

McLin and Miranda sparked the men, along with junior Patrik Johansson (Lund, Sweden) and freshman Sean Swanepoel (KZN, South Africa), with a win in the 400 medley relay in 3:24.92.

Mclin also picked up a win in the 200 backstroke (1:51.04), while Miranda won the 200 breaststroke (2:05.44).

Biedermann, the younger brother of junior Amberle Biedermann (Colorado Springs, Colo.), won the 200 IM (1:53.51) and the 500 freestyle (4:42.75).

Pierce followed his counterpart (Riccobono) and swept the 1- and 3-meter board competitions with scores of 279.075 and 340.275, respectively. Pierce's score on the 3-meter board was a national qualifying score. Senior Marc Gastaldo (Winslow, Maine) took second on the 1-meter board (245.02) and second on the 3-meter board (266.25).

Senior Dustin Thompson (Munster, Ind.) won the 1000 freestyle (9:30.92), freshman Josh Graham (Newport News, Va.) took first in the 200 freestyle (1:43.95) and senior Daryl Northrop (Verona, N.J.) was victorious in the 100 freestyle (47.26)

For more information on Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving, please visit our official athletics website at www.GoPSUsports.com.

– Penn State Results To Follow –

Women's Swimming and Diving
Penn State 182
West Virginia 58
(Thursday at Morgantown, West Virginia)
100-yard Medley Relay: 1. Penn State, 4:22.23 (Sara Shepherd, Deirdre Dlugonski, Sarah Haupt, Courtney Stanchock); 2. West Virginia, 4:23.22; 3. Penn State, 4:24.22 (Genie Cheng, Melanie Rolish, Lauren Semchyshen, Jill Heck).
1000 Freestyle: 1. Margy Keefe, PSU, 10:08.99; 2. Jessica Barnes, PSU, 10:18.85; 3. Patty Murphy, PSU, 10:23.77; 4. Ashley Bissett, WV; 5. Jessi Banner, WV; 6. Kristi Goodrick, WV.
200 Freestyle: 1. Nicole Collins, PSU, 1:52.72; 2. Lauren Preyss, PSU, 1:53.75; 3. Amberle Biedermann, PSU, 1:54.23; 4. Bonnie Sutton, WV; 5. Erin Tudor, WV.
50 Freestyle: 1. Genie Cheng, PSU, 24.39; 2. Jennifer Eberst, PSU, 24.98; 3. Molly Crispell, PSU, 25.14; 4. Livia Cascao, WV; 5. Manuela Trabert, WV; 6. Courtney Stanchock, PSU, 25.43; 7. Elyse Fisher, WV; 8. Lizzy Cleary, WV.
200 IM: 1. Erin Morris, PSU, 2:06.79; 2. Larissa Kavchok, PSU, 2:07.57; 3. Deirdre Dlugonski, PSU, 2:08.12; 4. Tina Gabrilo, WV; 5. Julia Warnken, WV; 6. Sarah Haupt, PSU, 2:13.08; 7. Chelsea Ademski, WV; 8. Megan Carlson, WV.
1-meter diving: 1. Alison Riccobono, PSU, 257.32; 2. Corey Pagnotta, PSU, 241.05.
200 Butterfly: 1. Jennifer Eberst, PSU, 2:06.54; 2. Megan Palera, PSU, 2:08.32; 3. Julia Warnken, WV; 4. Kristin Smith, PSU, 2:12.78.
100 Freestyle: 1. Larissa Kavchok, PSU, 52.96; 2. Amberle Biedermann, PSU, 53.49; 3. Erin Tudor, WV; 4. Molly Crispell, PSU, 54.06.
200 Backstroke: 1. Erin Morris, PSU, 2:02.51; 2. Sara Shepherd, PSU, 2:03.46; 3. Jessica Barnes, PSU, 2:07.26.
500 Freestyle: 1. Nicole Collins, PSU, 4:54.36; 2. Ashley Bissett, WV; 3. Bonnie Sutton, WV.
3-meter diving: 1. Alison Riccobono, PSU, 259.20; 2. Corey Pagnotta, PSU, 241.95.
200 Breaststroke: 1. Kristen Woodring, PSU, 2:23.55; 2. Deirdre Dlugonski, PSU, 2:26.54; 3. Megan Carlson, WV.
400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Penn State, 3:32.44 (Lauren Preyss, Jennifer Eberst, Lauren Semchyshen, Larissa Kavchok); 2. West Virginia.
Records: Penn State – 1-0; West Virginia – 0-1.
Next meet: Virginia at Penn State, 12 p.m. Oct. 30.

Men's Swimming and Diving
Penn State 150
West Virginia 93
(Thursday at Morgantown, West Virginia)
400-yard Medley Relay: 1. Penn State, 3:24.92 (Shawn McLin, Kyle Miranda, Patrik Johansson, Sean Swanepoel); 2. West Virginia; 3. West Virginia.
1000 Freestyle: 1. Dustin Thompson, PSU, 9:30.92; 2. Mark Zucca, PSU, 9:48.47; 3. Richard Kornacki, PSU, 9:53.69.
200 Freestyle: 1. Josh Graham, PSU, 1:43.95; 2. Dan Kaiserian, PSU, 1:46.02; 3. Brad Roth, PSU, 1:46.17.
50 Freestyle: 1. Matt Drozd, WV, 21.38; 2. Chris Hagerdon, WV; 3. Daryl Northrop, PSU, 21.54; 4. Sean Swanepoel, PSU, 21.68; 5. Kyle Williams, WV; 6. Patrik Johansson, PSU, 22.26; 7. Kyle Gallo, WV; 8. Chris Ippoliti, PSU, 22.50.
200 IM: 1. Sean Biedermann, PSU, 1:53.51; 2. Pablo Marmolejo, WV; 3. Pedro Pinto, WV; 4. Kyle Miranda, PSU, 1:57.56; 5. Arda Kostem, WV; 6. Shawn McLin, PSU, 1:59.15.
1-meter diving: 1. Adam Pierce, PSU, 340.27; 2. Marc Gastaldo, PSU, 266.25; 3. Bob Butcher, WV.
200 Butterfly: 1. Pablo Marmolejo, WV; 2. Dustin Thompson, PSU, 1:52.88; 3. Brad Roth, PSU, 1:58.64; 4. Richard Kornacki, PSU, 2:01.07.
100 Freestyle: 1. Daryl Northrop, PSU, 47.26; 2. Matt Drozd, WV; 3. Kyle Williams, WV; 4. Patrik Johansson, PSU, 48.69; 5. Dan Kaiserian, PSU, 48.84.
200 Backstroke: 1. Shawn McLin, PSU, 1:51.04; 2. Josh Graham, PSU, 1:56.23; 3. Rick Mann, WV; 4. Steve Earley, WV; 5. Bobby Franssen, PSU, 2:03.65.
500 Freestyle: 1. Sean Biedermann, PSU, 4:42.75; 2. Richard Kornacki, PSU, 4:48.76; 3. Kevin Van Buskirk, WV.
3-meter diving: 1. Adam Pierce, PSU, 340.27; 2. Marc Gastaldo, PSU, 266.60; 3. Bob Butcher, WV; 4. Brian Donahue, WV; 5. Tim Hobbs, WV; 6. Patrick Bukowski, PSU, 204.15.
200 Breaststroke: 1. Kyle Miranda, PSU, 2:05.44; 2. Felipe Cunha, WV; 3. Arda Kostem, WV; 4. Mark Zucca, PSU, 2:10.84.
400 Freestyle Relay: 1. West Virginia, 3:06.42; 2. Penn State, 3:08.24 (Sean Biedermann, Dan Kaiserian, Sean Swanepoel, J.L. Rathfon); 3. Penn State, 3:16.89 (Josh Graham, Daryl Northrop, Mark Zucca, Dustin Thompson).
Records: Penn State – 1-0; West Virginia – 0-1.
Next meet: Virginia at Penn State, 12 p.m. Oct. 30.

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