Jan. 2, 2010
NAPLES, Fla. - The Penn State men's and women's swim teams celebrated the New Year with an unscored relay meet in a long course pool against Florida State on Saturday.
The men's team had a very successful outing, taking top honors in both the 200m Medley and 200m Free Relays. Dan Fimbianti (Mahwah, N.J.), Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.), Graham Risley (Riverside, Ill.) and Jamie Grennan (Milford, Pa.) completed the 200m Medley Relay in a time of 1:52.63. Not far behind in third were Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.), Brent Sanderson (Chadds Ford, Pa.), Greg Daniele (Middletown, N.J.) and Ted Walker (Philadelphia, Pa.) in a time of 1:54.77.
The squad of Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.), Basil Kaaki (Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia), Jon Cochrane (Boalsburg, Pa.), John Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) tied for first in the 200m Free Relay with a time of 1:38.63. In third for Penn State was the team of Mike Kaiserian (Radnor, Pa.), Ben Ryan (State College, Pa.), Luke Bushman (Green Bay, Wis.), and Scott Marino (Scotch Plains, N.J.) in a time of 1:43.45.
For the women, the Lions saw the 200m Medley Relay "A" squad finish third in a time of 2:09.00. Comprised of Amy Modglin (Ft. Myers, Fla.), Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas), Michelle Myers (State College, Pa.) and Samantha Palser (Chester Springs, Pa.), the team finished ahead of the fourth-place "B" squad. That team finished in a time of 2:09.55, which was swum by Daphne Skelos (Rockville Center, N.Y.), Lyndsey Smith (Westminster, Md.), Kailey Morris (Baltimore, Md.) and Erin Thomas (Bangor, Maine).
Those performances were topped by the squad of Lindsey DeForrest (Wycombe, Pa.), Katie Pulos (Rosemont, Pa.), Paige Whitmire (Lederarch, Pa.), and Kristen Rodman (Lansdale, Pa.) that finished first in a time of 1:52.75 in the 200m Free Relay. The team of Rachel Gadzicki (Pottstown, Pa.), Stephanie Roop (Downingtown, Pa.), Kaeley Boyle (Ashburn, Va.), and Erin Luley (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) came in third with a time of 1:59.41.
The meet served as part of the team's training trip to Florida for Winter Break. The Lions continue their 2010 slate in two weeks at Pittsburgh for a meet against Pitt, Maryland and Villanova.
--NITTANY LIONS--