Dec. 4, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - The Penn State women's swimming & diving team completed the second day of the Georgia Invitational in 4th place with 363 points after a strong showing in the prestigious competition hosted by the Bulldogs at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on Saturday evening.
Georgia will enter the final day of the meet in first place with 835 points. Auburn stands second with 541.5, while Virginia is third at 387.5. Following Penn State, Kansas (264), Harvard (176), and Minnesota (118) round out the field.
Mackenzie Powers and Alexandra Young led an outstanding effort by the Nittany Lions in the 100-butterfly. During the competition, Powers placed 3rd with an NCAA `B' standard time of 54.09. Young followed close behind, touching the wall in 5th place with a clocking of 54.92.
Merritt Krawczyk also looked strong in the 100-breaststroke after notching a fourth-place finish with a time of 1.01.91. That pace marked the team's fastest time of the season and eclipsed the NCAA `B' standard.
Paige Whitmire led the Lions in the 100-backstroke as she cruised to a time of 54.45, which placed her seventh in the field and bested the NCAA `B' standard. Sam Palser also pieced together a strong effort in the event as she completed the course in 10th place with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 55.04.
In the 400-IM, Chelsea Weedman captured a top-10 finish after placing 10th with a time of 4:15.92. She just out-touched teammate Amy Modglin as the sophomore standout finished 11th in 4:17.42. Both times topped the NCAA `B' standard.
During other events, Monika Mialka was the top Nittany Lion in the 200-freestyle after touching the wall in 13th place with a time of 1:49.49. The 200-medley relay team, paced by Krawczyk, Young, Hailey Campbell, and Erin Thomas, recorded Penn State's top time after completing the event in 1:42.01, which placed the unit seventh in the competition.
Penn State's 800-freestyle relay team wrapped up the second day of action with another 'B' standard time. In the event, the foursome of Modglin, Mialka, Thomas, and Weedman placed eighth with a time of 7:21.38.
In the lone diving event of the day, Megan Marco led the Lions with an 11th place showing in the 1-meter dive. During the event, she posted a score of 235.95.
Penn State will wrap up the meet tomorrow when the squad kicks off the final day of competition at 9:30 a.m. Finals are slated for 3 p.m.