March 1, 2008
Ann Arbor, Mich. - Four men's swimmers advanced to the final night of finals at the Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. Pat Schirk and Tim Williams qualified for the 'A' finals of the 200 back and 200 fly, respectively, while both Sean Swanepoel and Vincent Reydams will swim in the 'B' finals of the 100 free. Tonight will be see the 1650 free contested, in which the Nittany Lions have two of the top six seeds in David Kraft and Dito Calderon.
Schirk finished fifth in the prelims of the 200 back, which he already owns an NCAA 'A' automatic qualifying time in. His prelim time of 1:44.05 was about two and half seconds off his best career time. Dan Fimbianti will be the first alternate after finishing 19th.
Williams was less than a second off an NCAA 'A' time in the 200 fly, as he also finished fifth in 1:45.86, a 'B' time. Matt Cox will be the second alternate as he placed 20th.
In the 100 free, Swanepoel placed seventh in :44.12, his best time of the year and a 'B' time. Reydams came in 12th in :44.27, also a 'B' time.
In addition to the 1650 free tonight, the 400 free relay will also be contested. The Nittany Lions team, which already has an NCAA 'B' time in that event, is seeded fifth.