Feb. 27, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Penn State men's swimming team continued the Big Ten Championships with a strong performance at Friday's preliminary competition. Seven will advance to tonight's finals and one will make his first appearance in a championship final.
Matt Cox continued his impressive performance swimming the 400 IM in an NCAA "B" time of 3:52.58 to earn a spot in the consolation finals. Scott Marino wasn't far behind touching the wall in 3:53.99 to earn the top time for the C finals.
Colin Quirk shaved five second off his career best clocking in at 4:00.82 while Josh Wakely lowered his best time by three seconds in 4:01.32.
In the 100 butterfly, Tim Williams earned his third NCAA "B" qualifying time of the year clocking in at 47.53 to earn the third seed in the consolation final.
Ben Ryan swam the 200 free in 1:37.44 to earn a spot in the C final.
Earning the first championship final appearance for the Nittany Lions is freshman Mitch Scherer in the 100 breaststroke. Swimming an NCAA "B" time of 54.46, Scherer is in good position to earn points in the finals this evening. Brian Alden will earn points as well in the consolation final earning a "B" time of his own at 54.52.
Two-time All-American Patrick Schirk has the second fastest time heading into the 100 backstroke finals this evening with a time of 47.08. Joining Schirk with a spot in the C final is Dan Fimbianti touching the wall in 49.82.
The Men's Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships will continue tonight at 7 p.m. and will include the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays. Fans can follow the action live at http://purduesports.cstv.com/livestats/c-swim/pur101207/.