Penn State Swimming and Diving Teams Lead Rutgers, Yale

Photo Courtesy: Penn State Athletics

PISCATAWAY – The Penn State swimming and diving teams lead Rutgers and Yale after day one of their two-day meet in Piscataway. The women’s team holds a 111-74 advantage over the Scarlet Knights, while the men are up 94-92 against the Bulldogs.

Penn State Women’s Press Release

The No. 17 Penn State women’s swimming and diving team earned maximum points in three events against Rutgers Friday evening, allowing the Nittany Lions to build a 111-74 lead over the Scarlet Knights after 10 events. Competition will resume Saturday morning at 11 a.m.

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. Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) followed in 1:50.14, while Megan Wujciak (Livingstone, N.J.) placed third (1:50.21) less than a tenth of a second behind her.

Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa., 23.40), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J., 23.54) and Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va., 23.78) claimed the top spots in the 50 free, while Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa., 9:58.76), Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md., 10:04.20) and Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y., 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. Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) touched second (2:01.08).

Haley Sinatro (West Harford, Conn.) 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.

Fans can follow the action in RU’s Werblin Recreation Center Saturday morning via a live video stream on scarletknights.com. Live results are also available through the web and the MeetMobile app.

Penn State Men’s Press Release

Aided by senior Nate Savoy’s two first place finishes, the Penn State men’s swimming and diving team leads Yale 94-92 after day one of the two day meet, which is being hosted by Rutgers. Savoy (Reading, Pa.) touched the wall first in the 100 back with a 48.65 time and then was fastest in the 200 IM with a 1:50.51 performance.

As a whole the Lions had a half dozen top finishes in their first ever meeting with the Bulldogs, including freshman Bob Bantley (Maple Glen, Pa.) who was fastest in the 200 free with a season best time of 1:40.04. Junior Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) added to his team’s first place tally with a 20.49 swim in the 50 yard free. The 200 free relay team compired of Savoy, Jeff Young (Hershey, Pa.), Bantley and Ryan also struck gold with a 1:21.66 time.

In the diving portion of the program, the Nittany Lions swept the top three spots in the one meter with freshman Travis Wright (Derby, N.Y.) earning a season best 288.70 score. Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) and T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) placed second and third with 272.70 and 268.30 scores respectively.

Additionally, PSU two more second place finishes on Friday as freshman Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) was less than a second off his teammate’s pace in the 200 free at 1:40.56. Sophomore Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.) was runner up in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.18.

The Penn State 400 yard medley relay team also placed second Friday night at Rutgers’ Werblin Recreation Center with their time of 3:19.88. That team was comprised of Ryan, Schuehler, Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) and Young. Madley also had another strong performance, this time in the 200 fly with his 1:52.10 performance, which was good enough for third place, Penn State’s fastest finisher in the event.

Head coach Tim Murphy’s squad will be back in action Saturday morning as they try to finish off the Bulldogs with a total of nine events on tap. Competition starts at 11:00, with the 200 yard medley relay. Live results as well as a live video stream of day two of the meet will be available by clicking this link on the Scarlet Knights’ official website.

Rutgers Press Release

Securing a first-place finish in the 400 medley relay to start the meet and a 1-2-3 showing in the 3-meter dive, the Rutgers women’s swimming and diving team opened its inaugural Big Ten meet against Penn State on Friday night at the RU Aquatics Center.

Despite RU’s four first-place finishes, the Nittany Lions hold a 111-74 edge over the Scarlet Knights heading into tomorrow’s session.

Rutgers kicked off the night with a huge victory in the 400 medley relay. The quartet of Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.), Greta Leberfinger (Chatham, N.J.), Morgan Pfaff (Red Lion, Pa.), and Sarah Coyne (Osceola, Ind.) hit the wall at 3:44.84 to top the field, holding off Penn State’s group with its touch at 3:45.31.

Penn State responded by claiming the top-three finishes of the 200 freestyle, but Wu returned the momentum to RU, placing first in the 100 backstroke(55.80).

The Scarlet Knights’ showed its strength in the 100 breaststroke event as Leberfinger placed first with a season-high time of 1:03.41. Sophomore Rachel Stoddard (Hillsborough, N.J.) followed in second, registering a season-high of her own at 1:03.94.

On the boards, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week and ECAC Co-Diver of the Week, Addison Walkowiak (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), registered a career-best 321.50 to notch first in the event. Sophomore Alyssa Black (Middletown, N.Y.) followed in second with a season-high score of 263.70, while freshman Morgan Engel (Mound, Minn.) rounded out the leaderboard for RU with a third-place mark of 229.15.

Penn State went on to capture the top-three spots in the 50 free and the 1000 free to gain the edge over Rutgers heading into day two of competition.

RU and PSU return to the pool tomorrow at 11 a.m. The session will be streamed live on RVision.

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 with www.ScarletKnights.com.

Yale Press Release

Halfway through its meet against Penn State, the Yale men’s swimming and diving team trails the Nittany Lions by a slim margin of two points. The score when the two teams left Rutgers’ Sonny Werblin Recreation Center for the evening was 92-94.

The Bulldogs struck first with a victory in the 400-yard medley relay. Freshman Shawn Nee held his own against Penn State junior Shane Ryan, an All-American in the 100-yard backstroke. Senior captain Andrew Heymann gained over a second on the Nittany Lions’ A team with his breaststroke swim. Senior Alwin Firmansyah and junior Victor Zhang pulled ahead and secured a first-place finish.

Penn State swimmers took first and second place in the 200-yard freestyle. Yale junior Brian Hogan finished third with a time of 1:40.04, just .07 behind the runner-up, freshman Matt Stasiunas. Freshman Kei Hyogo added to Yale’s point total by finishing in fifth place.

Nee and senior Rob Harder finished second and third in the 100-yard backstroke, respectively. Penn State senior Nate Savoy won the event with a time of 48.65, .52 faster than Nee.

Heymann was the first Yale swimmer to win an individual event, claiming a victory for the Bulldogs in the 100-yard backstroke with a 56.33 swim. Freshman Derek Kao finished third with a time of 57.42.

Firmansyah won the 200-yard butterfly and recorded a season-best time in the event. His time of 1:47.92, an NCAA B cut, was nearly a second faster than his race against Dartmouth and Penn on Jan. 10. Sophomore Alex Schultz finished in second place with a time of 1:51.08.

Ryan won the 50-yard freestyle for Penn State, but Yale sophomore Aaron Greenberg, Zhang, and sophomore Oscar Miao claimed second, third, and fourth place respectively. Greenberg set the pace for his teammates, finishing in 20.76.

Savoy claimed another victory in the 200-yard IM, but the Bulldogs showed much greater depth in the event than the Nittany Lions. The next four swimmers to touch the wall were from Yale, led by Heymann, who finished in 1:51.50.

Yale had its greatest success in the 1,000-yard freestyle, seizing the top three places. Hyogo finished first with a time 9:08.64. He was followed by Hogan in second place and Lerude in third place. Lerude finished ten seconds ahead of his closest competitor from Penn State.

The Bulldogs concluded the first half of the meet with the 200-yard freestyle relay. Yale’s A team (Greenberg, Zhang, Harder and Miao) lost a close race to their challengers from State College. The four swimmers completed the relay in 1:21.94, .28 behind Penn State.

The second half of this close meet promises to be a nail-biter. Competition will resume at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with the 200-yard medley relay. Live results will be posted at http://besmarttinc.com/RutgersVarsity/2015/01Jan16PennYale/RTR/index.htm.

Results: Penn State, Yale vs. Rutgers, Day One

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