Yale Men, Penn State Women’s Swim and Dive Earn Wins at Rutgers

Photo Courtesy: Mark Selders

PISCATAWAY – The Penn State women’s swim and dive team and Yale men’s team came out victorious as the three schools concluded their two-day dual meet Saturday at Rutgers. The Penn State women topped Rutgers 212-138, while the Yale men earned a narrow 181-172 win over Penn State at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center.

Penn State Women’s Press Release

Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) recorded her second event win in as many days, as the No. 17 Penn State women’s swimming and diving team built on its first-day lead Saturday to defeat new Big Ten foe Rutgers, 212-138.

The Nittany Lions (9-1) held a 111-74 advantage over the Scarlet Knights (10-1) Friday evening after contesting the first 10 events, and they continued their success Saturday, ultimately posting the top times in 13 of 17 swimming events.

After claiming the 1000 freestyle Friday, Siverling led another sweep in the 500 Saturday in 4:52.52. Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md., 4:54.78), Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y., 4:55.99) and Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa., 5:01.65) followed in order. The freestyle dominance continued in the 100, as Megan Wujciak (Livingstone, N.J.) touched first in 51.40 seconds, with teammates Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.) and Tommie Dillione (Newtown, Pa.) trailing in 51.53 and 52.02, respectively.

Mackenzie Hornibrook (West Chester, Pa.) paced the 100 butterfly in 56.69 seconds, trailed closest by teammates Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J., 56.93), Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa., 57.04) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa., 57.79).

Penn State opened the second day of competition by claiming the top two spots in the 200 medley relay, led by the `A’ team of Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.), Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.), Fittin and Jones in 1:42.57.

Additionally, Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) took gold in the 200 breaststoke in 2:16.37, while Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y., 4:26.01) and Francis (4:27.66) claimed the top two spots in the 400 individual medley.

On Friday, The Blue and White swept the top three scoring positions in the 200, 50 and 1000-freestyle events. All four Lion swimmers touched in order in the 200 free, led by junior Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) in 1:49.30. Karr followed in 1:50.14, while Wujciak placed third (1:50.21) less than a tenth of a second behind her.

Miller (23.40), Fittin (23.54) and Jones (23.78) claimed the top spots in the 50 free, while Siverling (9:58.76), Sowinski (10:04.20) and Francis (10:05.10) did the same by a large margin in the 1000 free.

Sowinski’s 1000 free effort came after she led a 1-2 sweep in the 200 butterfly in 1:59.86, while Rowe touched second (2:01.08).

Sinatro was also an event winner, claiming the 200 individual medley in 2:04.26. Ackman, Wujciak, Jones and Miller capped the evening by leading a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:33.30 for the second fastest time this season.

Penn State will return to Happy Valley for its annual senior day celebration, Saturday, Jan. 24 vs Navy at McCoy Natatorium. The meet will start at 11 a.m., but ceremonies will begin at approximately 10:40 as the program says goodbye to a total of 13 seniors, five on the women’s side and eight on the men’s.

Rutgers Press Release

Despite producing a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke and securing a 1-2-3 finish on the boards for the second consecutive night, the Rutgers women’s swimming and diving team concluded its inaugural Big Ten meet against Penn State, falling to the Nittany Lions Saturday morning at the RU Aquatics Center.

PSU secured a 212-138 victory in the two-day event, aftering entering today’s session with a 111-74 advantage.

“I thought overall it was a great performance by the team,” said head coach Phil Spiniello. “In our first glimpse at Big Ten Conference action, we stepped up and competed, which was fantastic to see.”

Junior Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.) claimed first in the 200 backstroke, hitting the wall with a first-place time of 2:01.51. For Wu, it marked her second victory of the weekend, as she captured the 100 backstroke on Friday with a time of 55.80.

Rutgers continued its dominance on the boards, sweeping the top-three scores in the 1-meter dive. The Big Ten Freshman of the Week and ECAC Co-Diver of the Week, Addison Walkowiak (Ballston, Spa, N.Y.), placed first with a 285.40 score, followed by rookie Morgan Engel (Mound, Minn.) with a 252.50 mark and sophomore Alyssa Black (Middletown, N.Y.) with a 250.25 score.

Penn State produced wins in seven events on Saturday to protect its lead from day one of competition.

RU returns to the pool Saturday, Jan. 24, traveling to New Hampshire for its final dual meet on the road this season.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For exclusive Swimming and Diving updates, follow the team @RUSwimDive. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along withwww.ScarletKnights.com.

Yale Press Release

On Saturday, the Yale men’s swimming and diving team beat Big 10 power Penn State in its closest contest of the season thus far.

The Bulldogs came away with a 181-172 win at Rutgers’ Sonny Werblin Recreation Center, coming back from a two-point deficit after the first round of events on Friday evening.

Yale’s seniors, led by team captain Andrew Heymann, had an enormous impact on the outcome of the meet. Heymann won both breaststroke events, finished second in the 200-yard IM, and was a member of three relay teams.

Senior Alwin Firmansyah also played a big role in Yale’s win. He won both butterfly events and swam in all four relays.

Freshman Kei Hyogo was a force in the pool for the Bulldogs. He won the 500 and 1000-yard freestyle events, as well as the 400-yard IM. His time of 9:08.64 in the 1000-yard freestyle was a Rutgers pool record.

Heymann, Hyogo, and Firmansyah won the last three individual events of the meet to clinch the Bulldogs’ overall victory. After Penn State stars Shane Ryan and Nate Savoy’s wins in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke, Firmansyah took first place the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.37.

Heymann won the next event, the 200-yard breaststroke, and was followed closely by freshmen Jonathan Rutter and Derek Kao in second and third place, respectively. Hyogo and juniors Brian Hogan and Kevin Stang swam to a 1-2-3 finish in the 400-yard IM that all but clinched Yale’s sixth dual meet victory of the season.

Junior James McNelis spearheaded Yale’s diving efforts with third-place finishes in both events. He received scores of 248.90 and 277.90 in the one and three-meter diving, respectively.

Saturday’s win over the Nittany Lions is Yale’s first against a Big 10 team in a dual meet since 1942, when the Bulldogs defeated Michigan.

Tim Wise, the Robert J. H. Kiphuth Director of Men’s Swimming and Diving, said he was very proud of the team’s performance.

“This was really a tremendous team effort. We went toe-to-toe with a very strong team, and to come out on top says a lot about our team and the type of program we are building at Yale. When the opportunity to close out the meet appeared, we didn’t blink; we stepped up and took it, and that was really fun to see,” Wise said.

The Elis’ next meet is the annual showdown with their biggest rivals, Harvard and Princeton. This year’s HYP meet will be held in Cambridge, Mass., and will start on January 31.

Penn State Men’s Press Release

Senior Nate Savoy’s third first place finish in a span of two-days was not quite enough as the Penn State Men’s swimming and diving team was edged by Yale 181-172, in a meet hosted by Rutgers. The dual meet was the first ever between the two schools and dropped the Lions to 5-3 on the season as the Bulldogs improved to 7-0.

Savoy (Reading, Pa.) was fastest in the 200 back with a time of 1:47.08, off the heels of his two first place finishes on Friday night in the 100 back and 200 IM. In all, head coach Tim Murphy saw his team on top of the scoreboard a total of five times on Saturday.

Other individual first place finishers included Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.), who earned his second top time of the weekend with a 44.30 performance in the 100 free.

Two Penn State relay teams were also the fastest in the pool on the meet’s second day as the 400 yard free team of Savoy, Bob Bantley (Maple Glen, Pa.), Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) and Ryan earned a 2:58.98 time. The 200 yard medley team consisting of Savoy, Ryan, Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.) and Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) also struck gold with their 1:29.60 performance.

Madley had a solid day individually to go along with his relay performance as he placed second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.26. Senior Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J) added a bronze to the Nittany Lions’ medal count with his third place finish and 4:32.16 time in the 500 free.

For the second straight day, the PSU diving corps swept competition as it placed first, second and third in the three meter. Senior T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) had a season best score of 320.30 and finished first, while freshmen Travis Wright (Derby, N.Y.) and Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) netted 303.70 and 301.75 scores respectively to round out the top three.

Despite the loss, Penn State claimed a total of 11 first place finishes in the two-day event with Savoy leading the way with his three and Ryan claiming a pair of top times.

The Lions will now have a week to prepare for their final home meet of the season, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24 vs. Navy. It will be senior day in McCoy Natatorium with ceremonies set to get underway at about 10:40 a.m. and competition to begin at 11:00 vs. the Midshipmen.

Results: Rutgers, Yale vs. Penn State

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