Nov. 21, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 25 Penn State men's swimming & diving team received strong performances from the victorious 200 freestlye relay squad, Luke Bushman (Green Bay, Wis.) and Dan Fimbianti (Mahwah, N.J.), but trail No. 8 Virginia after the first day of the teams' dual meet.
The Nittany Lions (2-1) headed into the event with the hopes of knocking off a top-10 foe, but after the first event, not much went in the Lions' direction. The 200 freestyle relay team of Basil Kaaki (Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia), Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.), Jamie Grennan (Milford, Pa.) and Ted Walker (Philadelphia, Pa.) took top honors in the event with a time of 1:22.14.
Backing up the winning 200 freestyle team was senior backstroker Fimbianti, who swam a time of 1:47.54 in the 200 backstroke. Fimbianti, who has won the event twice previously this year, won the event with a second to space over Virginia backstroke specialist David Wren (1:48.63).
Alden and Kaaki swam solid times in the 100 yard freestyle, taking second and third, respectively, in the event. Alden swam a time of 45.16 while Kaaki went 45.95. The winner of the event was Cavalier freestyler Scot Robison in a time of 44.78.
Freshman butterfly-specialist Bushman won the most exciting race of the evening when he overtook Virginia's Daniel McMahon in the closing stretch to win the 200-yard event in a time of 1:50.59. Bushman trailed by over three-quarters of a second heading into the final 50 yards before winning the race by .13.
The Nittany Lions return to the pool on Saturday when the two teams finish the two-day dual meet at McCoy Natatorium. The first event kicks off at 11:00 a.m.