Jan. 20, 2009
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Penn State senior Caitlin Meehan was honored as the Big Ten's Women's Swimmer of the Week award for the week of Jan. 20, conference officials announced Tuesday.
The West Chester, Pa. native set an NCAA `B' cut time in the 200-yard breaststroke this past weekend, as she earned the fastest time in the event, 2:14.65, at the Maryland Quad Meet. Meehan and her Nittany Lions earned victories over Maryland, Pittsburgh and Villanova in College Park, Md.
"It was fun to watch," head coach John Hargis said. "[Caitlin] did not have the best first half of her career. It was certainly good to see her come alive in front of her family and friends who showed up to Maryland."
She also racked up a second-place performance in the 100 breaststroke, coming in at 1:03.27, less than one second off of NCAA consideration.
"She wanted to swim fast and showed that she definitely can," Hargis said.
The accolade is the second for Meehan, who last won the honor on Oct. 23, 2007. It is the second Swimmer of the Week for the Nittany Lions this season and the first since teammate Kaitlin O'Brien won it on Nov. 18, 2008.
Meehan swims her final home meet as a member of the Penn State women's swimming team as the Nittany Lions face Rutgers on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the McCoy Natatorium.