Nov. 19, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Penn State women's swimming and diving team pieced together a strong showing on the first day of the squad's tri-meet with No. 9 Virginia and No. 15 Indiana at the Aquatic and Fitness Center on Friday evening.
Amy Modglin led the way for the Nittany Lions as the sophomore speedster captured the top spot in the 200-backstroke. During the event, she cruised to the title after touching the wall in 1:56.11, which eclipsed the NCAA `B' standard and marked a season-best time.
Chelsea Weedman also reached a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA meet with her performance in the 200-IM. The freshman standout clocked in at 2:01.75, which was the fastest time by a Nittany Lion during the 2010-11 campaign. She later returned to the pool to lead all Lions in the 200-butterfly with a fourth-place showing in 2:00.96.
The women opened the meet with an excellent performance in the 200-freestyle as the Lions posted a second-place finish. Paige Whitmire, Hailey Campbell, Katie Pulos, and Samantha Palser joined forces to post a time of 1:33.30, which was just a tick off the pace of Virginia's top unit.
Palser later came back to record the team's top time in the 100-freestyle after placing third in 50.75. Rachel Butler also had a third-place effort after completing the 100-breaststroke in 1:04.23, while Diana Greco rounded out the top performers after touching the wall fifth in the 500-freestyle with a 4:53.82 clocking.
Penn State capped off the first day of the meet with a nice performance in the 400-medley relay. Mackenzie Powers teamed with Modglin, Palser, and Butler to place second in the event with a time of 3:45.23.
Earlier in the afternoon, Megan Marco also had a strong effort in both diving events. The senior standout captured a pair of top-five finishes as she placed fourth in the 1-meter board with a score of 265.35 and fifth in the 3-meter dive with a 234.50 mark.
The team will return to the pool tomorrow when the final day of the tri-meet begins at 11 a.m.