Penn State Men and Women Emerge Victorious After Weekend Invite

The Penn State Nittany Lions swept both the Men and Women’s team titles at the Penn State Invite this past weekend. The PSU women were at the top with 1094 point to finish ahead of Princeton (993) and Connecticut (860), while the men came out on top of a close meet with 1189.5 points ahead of Princeton (1156.5) and Connecticut (681). Full recaps of the women’s and men’s meets are below.

Women’s Meet Press Release

The Penn State men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams swept the Penn State Invite Saturday afternoon at McCoy Natatorium. The Penn State women totaled 1094 points to finsh ahead of Princeton (993) and Connecticut (860).

On the women’s side, Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) and Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) continued their distance dominance with another 1-2 finish. Both swam season bests in the 500, as Francis touched first in 4:51.70 and Sowinski followed in 4:52.80. On Friday, the duo placed one and two in the 1650 free, with Francis setting a new school and pool record.

Niki Price (Manchester, Pa.) earned victories in both Saturday sessions. In the morning, Price and Sowinski combined for a 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly with Price (55.35) reaching the wall just ahead of Sowinski (55.35) in personal bests for both. In the afternoon, Price won the 200 backstroke in 2:02.57, while Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) was third in 2:02.93.

The women used several sweeps of the top scoring places to extend their lead. In the morning, the Nittany Lions claimed the top five places in the 100 backstroke, led by Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) in a personal best 56.15. Rowe led a Penn State sweep of the top four places in the 400 individual medley, touching first in 4:22.59, while Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) did the same in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.45.

In the afternoon, Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) led a top-four sweep in the 100 free with a season-best time of 50.59 seconds. In exhibitioned races, Rowe swam the fastest time in the 200 butterfly (2:01.75) and Rodriguez (200 breast, 2:14.67) and Ackman (100 free, 50.59) did the same in their respective events late.

The women opened the morning session with a 1-2 sweep in the 200 medley relay, led the team of Sinatro, Rodriguez, Saloky and Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.) in 1:42.21, and closed the day with another 1-2 finish in the 400 freestyle, led by the team of Ackman, Jones, Price and Katrina Kuhn.

Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) placed second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 267.85. She also placed second Friday in the 3-meter dive with a score of 281.30.

On Friday, Francis set a new Penn State and McCoy Natatorium record in the women’s swimming mile, as the Nittany Lions completed the first of three sessions of the Penn State Invite Fridayevening.

Francis touched first in 16 minutes, 5.37 seconds to break the previous Penn State standard of 16:07.55 set by Megan Siverling at the 2015 Big Ten Championships. Sowinski followed in second in 16:25.78. Both times bested the NCAA ‘B’-cut standard.

The women opened the session by sweeping the top two places in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Ackman, Jones, Saloky and Sinatro swam a season-best time of 1:31.97 to place first.

The Lions were dominant in the 200 individual medley, sweeping the top six places, led by Rowe in 2:02.34. They were similarly dominant in the 50 free, as Saloky led a top-four sweep, touching in 23.47.

Next, Penn State will send split squads to the Georgia Invitational hosted by the University of Georgia and the Big Al Invitational hosted by Princeton Dec. 4-6.

Women’s Team Results

Penn State – 1094
Princeton – 993
Connecticut – 860

Men’s Meet Press Release

The Penn State men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams swept the Penn State Invite, placing ahead of Princeton and Connecticut, Saturday afternoon at McCoy Natatorium. The Nittany Lion men totaled 1189.5 points to finish ahead of Princeton (1156.5) and Connecticut (681).

Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) completed a sweep the distance events with a season-best 4:28.78 in the 500 free Saturday. The performance, coupled with a total of four Nittany Lions in the top seven, helped put PSU back into the team lead over Princeton by 15 points. Led by Tim Maurer (Hershey, Pa.) (1:52.23) in second place, Penn State then took six of the top seven places in the 200 backstroke. David Gross (Perryville, Md.) (1:52.41), Nathaniel Bledsoe (Carmel, Ind.) (1:52.76) and Tomer Zamir (Gesher Haziv, Israel) (1:52.94) followed closely in order, to give Penn State a 44-point cushion.

However, Princeton closed the gap to just two points in the 100 free, claiming four of the top five spots. Penn State’s Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) placed second in 46.25, and then Princeton retook the lead by 11 points with a 1-2 finish in the 200 breast.

Penn State finished strong to clinch the meet though. Freshman Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) completed a sweep of the diving events with a season-best 377.25 in the 3-meter. He also posted a season-best score Friday of 353.80 in the 1-meter dive. Classmate Rory Lewis (Kensington, Md.) placed second (1:49.15) to lead three Nittany Lions in the top five in the 200 butterfly.

The Lions clinched the meet by placing second and third in the 400 freestyle relay. Grillo, Stasiunas, Lewis and Ryan O’Neill (Howell, N.J.) led the runner-up effort, touching in 3:03.42.

In the morning session, the men saw their greatest success in the 200 freestyle as Stasiunas led a podium sweep in 1:39.94. O’Neill was second in 1:40.55 and was followed in third by Lewis (1:40.74). Princeton claimed the top places in the other events, but Penn State hung tough. The 200 medley relay team of Zamir, Andrew Schuehler, Grillo and Zach Kantz placed second in 1:32.27. Zamir (50.21) and Maurer (50.79) placed second and third in the 100 backstroke. Bledsoe (400 IM, 4:04.72) and Sterg Dikos (Mohton, Pa.) (100 fly, 50.80) and both placed third in their respective events with season-best times.

On Friday, Stasiunas achieved the ‘B’ standard on the men’s side en route to a victory in the 1650 free, touching in 15:29.15. Robbie Dickson (Greenwich, N.J.) followed in 15:42.00.

Additionally, on the men’s side Maurer and Lewis placed first (1:50.73) and third (1:52.30), respectively, with season best times in the 200 IM. Grillo placed third in the 50 free (20.94) to lead the Lions in the event, in which Princeton claimed the top two places. Zach Kantz (Mount Bethel, Pa.) and Zamir followed in fourth (21.01) and fifth (21.03), respectively.

Next, Penn State will send split squads to the Georgia Invitational hosted by the University of Georgia and the Big Al Invitational hosted by Princeton Dec. 4-6.

Team Results

Penn State – 1189.5
Princeton – 1156.5
Connecticut – 681

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use