Feb. 18, 2010
Finals Results | Preliminary Results | Friday's Heat Sheets | | | Championship Central
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Riding a season-high nine "NCAA B" times, the Penn State women's swimming & diving team jumped two spots to sixth following five events on day two of the Big Ten Championships. The Lions' best showing came in the 200 IM where they placed fourth, sixth, seventh and 13th, all with B qualifying times.
The Nittany Lions impressed in the morning preliminaries, seeing nine swimmers advance to the evening's finals - five A finals, three B finals and one C final. For the complete preliminary results, please click here.
Highlighting a strong effort for Penn State was the 200 IM where senior Lyndsey Smith (Westminster, Md.) led the way with a fourth-place finish (1:59.52), almost a full two seconds better than her season-best, while topping her career-best and placing second in Penn State program history. Fellow senior Daphne Skelos (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) wasn't far behind, finishing sixth (2:00.13), while freshman Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas) placed seventh (2:00.34), good for fifth in program history. Another freshman, Amy Modglin (Fort Myers, Fla.), finished 13th (2:01.51) to place ninth in Penn State history.
Penn State saw one swimmer reach the A, B and C finals of the 500 freestyle, each racking up "NCAA B" times in the process. Senior Kailey Morris (Baltimore, Md.) finished eighth (4:46.92), senior Stephanie Roop (Downingtown, Pa.) was 16th (4:49.07) and junior Diana Greco (Chester Springs, Pa.) placed 23rd (4:51.93).
Freshman Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.) cracked the Penn State record book as well, in the 50 freestyle. She finished sixth with her time of 22.95 good for fourth in program history. Senior Michelle Myers (Boalsburg, Pa.) came in 14th as well with a strong finish of 23.22.
The day opened with the 200 freestyle relay where the team of Myers, Whitmire, Lindsey DeForrest (Wycombe, Pa.) and Samantha Palser (Chester Springs, Pa.) swam to an "NCAA B" time of 1:31.13.
One-meter diving also took place, but no Lions advanced to the finals. Junior Megan Marco (Lebanon, Pa.) led the way in preliminaries with a score of 221.45.
Action continues on Friday with the 400 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and three-meter diving. Click here for the complete heat sheets.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com at the conclusion of each day for complete coverage of the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championships.
Complete Finals Results
200 Freestyle Relay
6. Myers, Whitmire, DeForrest, Palser - 1:31.13 (NCAA B)
500 Freestyle
8. Kailey Morris - 4:46.92 (NCAA B)
16. Stephanie Roop - 4:49.07 (NCAA B)
23. Diana Greco - 4:51.93 (NCAA B)
200 IM
4. Lyndsey Smith - 1:59.52 (NCAA B)
6. Daphne Skelos - 2:00.13 (NCAA B)
7. Merritt Krawczyk - 2:00.34 (NCAA B)
13. Amy Modglin - 2:01.51 (NCAA B)
50 Freestyle
6. Paige Whitmire - 22.95 (NCAA B)
14. Michelle Myers - 23.22
Team Rankings Through Event 7
1. Minnesota - 204.5
2. Michigan - 195.5
3. Indiana - 191
4. Purdue - 182
5. Wisconsin - 150.5
6. Penn State - 144
7. Ohio State - 139.5
8. Northwestern - 101
9. Iowa - 63
10. Michigan State - 50
11. Illinois - 27