Pool Record Falls as Penn State Sweeps Villanova

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania, November 11. THE Penn State men's swimming and diving team moved to a 2-0 record on Saturday afternoon, defeating Villanova 211-81 in the first home meet of the 2012-13 season. The Nittany Lions swept 12 of the 16 events and had 34 top-three finishes against the Wildcats. Junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa,) helped lead the squad to the commanding victory, breaking a 13-year old pool record in the 100 back.

Grier led a Penn State sweep of the 100 back, winning the event with a time of 48.00 seconds to break the McCoy Natatorium pool record. Josh Weaver originally set the record of 48.58 seconds in 1999. The junior went on to swim the best time in the 100 fly, clocking in at 48.56 seconds for nine points.

The Lions kicked off the dual meet with a sweep of the 200 medley relay, with the squad of sophomore Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), junior James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), Grier and freshman Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) earning first place with a time of 1:29.54. Senior Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.), junior John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.), freshman Philip Mancuso (Hershey, Pa.) and junior Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia, Pa.) followed in second with 1:33.43, while sophomore Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.), freshman Max Byers (Glen Carbon, Ill.), sophomore Alex Galinskiy (Parlin, N.J.) and sophomore Jeff Young (Hershey, Pa.) finished in 1:36.27.

Recording his first individual victory as a Lion, Ryan led a sweep of the 50 free with a time of 20.46 seconds before claiming first in the 100 free with a personal best of 45.00 seconds. The rookie was followed by junior Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.; 21.09) and Sideras (21.11) in the 50 free, and led a sweep in the 100 free ahead of junior Seth Wensel (Christiansburg, Va.; 47.36) and freshman Andrew Eiken (Naperville, Ill.; 48.55).

Also recording their first wins in an individual event, Mancuso led a sweep in the 200 fly with a personal best time of 1:53.34, while Byers claimed the 200 breast with a time of 2:12.53. Mancuso led fellow rookies Jon Seiferth (Allison Park, Pa.), finishing second with 1:55.27, and Chase Schell (Tacoma, Wash.), finishing in 2:00.38 for third place. Byers led Wilson (2:12.68) and freshman Will Lee (Hershey, Pa.; 2:14.20) in the 200 breast for the sweep, and went on to take second in the 100 breast with a time of 1:00.25 behind Wilson, who claimed victory with a time of 58.20.

Wilson is one of several Lions that won their individual events, including sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.), Hauser and Savoy. Ankosko claimed the 1,000 free with a time of 9:16.50 and went on to post the best time in the 500 free (4:29.35), while Hauser earned first in the 200 free with a time of 1:40.16. Hauser led the Penn State sweep ahead of Eiken, who clocked in at 1:42.95 for a personal best time, and Galinskiy (1:43.19). Savoy won the 200 back to lead a sweep, as well, recording a time of 1:49.48. The sophomore was followed by Madley in second place with 1:54.16 and Gomez in third with 1:55.11.

Penn State divers also dominated their events, sweeping both the one- and three-meter boards. Sophomore T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) set two new personal best records, winning the one-meter dive with a score of 301.05 and winning the three-meter dive with a score of 332.92. Claiming second on both the one- and three meter boards, senior Alex Marchinski (Shillington, Pa.) recorded respective scores of 285.82 and 300.52. Rounding out the sweep to make his debut as a Lion, junior Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, Pa.) earned 258.60 points on the one-meter dive and recorded a score of 266.77 on the three-meter board for third place.

Adding to the 211 points recorded by the Lions, Lee and Gomez each earned second-place finishes in the 1,000 free (9:43.43) and the 100 back (52.35), respectively. Madley earned third in the 100 back to complete a Penn State sweep with a time of 52.48 seconds, as well.

Penn State returns to action on Friday, Nov. 16 when the squad travels to Bloomington, Indiana for a weekend tri-meet against Indiana and Virginia. Competition will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17.

The Nittany Lions opened up the home portion of their schedule by winning 12 of 16 events inside McCoy Natatorium versus in-state rival Villanova on Saturday (Nov. 10) morning. Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.), Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.), Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) and Megan Springsteen (Owego, N.Y.) all claimed individual victories in two events to help Penn State win their eighth straight decision over the Wildcats, 177-116.

The 200 medley relay team of Powers, Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Grit, N.J.) and Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.) claimed the opening event of the afternoon, while Jenna Bickel (Slingerlands, N.Y.), Grace Ninesling (Jamestown, N.Y.), Chelsea Weedman (Poway, Calif.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) posted the second fastest time in the event.

The Nittany Lions swept the top three spots in nine events during the meet, including both the 1- and 3-meter boards during the diving portion of the meet. Springsteen set career-bests winning both diving events, scoring 268.42 on the 1-meter and 264.00 on the 3-meter. Emily Stotesbery (Greenwich, Conn.) claimed second place and Meredith Harbison (Butler, Pa.) finished third in both diving events to give the Lions the sweep.

Megan Siverling (Havertown, Pa.) captured the first individual event of the evening when the sophomore won the 1000 free in a career-best time of 10:06.24. She was followed by teammates Claire Singley (Southlake, Texas), 10:13.57, and Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.), 10:14.46, to sweep the top three spots. Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) followed up Siverling's performance with a career-best swim of her own and claimed the top spot in the 200 free. Ackman swam 1:50.30, the team's top time in the event this season, and Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) claimed the second spot in 1:50.84.

Powers won the first of her two individual events when she cleared the field in the 100 back by nearly two full seconds. The junior touched in 56.66, while teammates Casey Fazio (Secaucus, N.J.) and Allie Roberts (Emmaus, Pa.) finished second and third, respectively, in 58.28 and 58.86.Later in the program, Powers out-touched the field by nearly a full second in the 100 fly, winning in 55.78. Whitmire finished second in the 100 fly, swimming 56.40, but claimed the 50 free in a season-best time of 23.28.

Rowe posted a pair of first place showings on the evening, starting by out-touching Villanova's Hayley Edwards in the 200 fly. The freshman led throughout the race and came in just three-tenths of a second ahead of Edwards, touching the wall in 2:04.02. Her second individual win came just three events later when she captured the 200 back. Rowe swam 2:03.79 and finished ahead of fellow Lions Bickel and Roberts. Bickel placed second in 2:05.58 and Roberts touched third in 2:06.27.

Shishkoff added two more individual wins to her 2012 resume, winning the 500 free and 200 IM events to cap the victories for the Blue and White. The junior swam a career-best 4:52.06 in the 500 free, winning in front of Ackman (4:56.37) and Villanova's Roxy Tammadge (4:59.11). Two events later, Shishkoff swam 2:04.31 to edge Krawczyk's 2:04.99 and win her fifth individual swim of the year. Krawczyk finished second overall in the event and Weedman grabbed a third place showing in 2:06.08.

Penn State will travel to Bloomington, Ind. for a tri-meet with Indiana and Virginia on Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday, Nov. 17. The festivities kick-off at 5 p.m. on Friday and begin again on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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