Jan. 14, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Penn State women's swimming & diving team posted a dominating performance on the first day of its quad meet at the University of Maryland as the Nittany Lions wrapped up the evening with four individual victories while out-pacing the host Terrapins as well as intrastate rivals Pittsburgh and Villanova.
Following the first day of the meet, Penn State leads Maryland, 94-73, and holds commanding advantages against its two Keystone State rivals. Against Pittsburgh, the Lions lead, 126-41, while the squad holds a 144-23 edge against Villanova.
Penn State's finest performance of the evening came in the 400-individual medley as the squad swept all three spots on the podium. Amy Modglin led the way with an NCAA `B' standard time of 4:19.40, while Gabi Shishkoff and Chelsea Weedman followed close behind.
Later in the evening, Penn State also looked strong in the 100-breaststroke as the squad posted the top-two times. Merritt Krawczyk led the field with a season-best time of 1:01.81, while Rachel Butler placed second after touching the wall in 1:04.23.
Diana Greco captured the top spot in the 1650-freestyle after completing the course in 16:41.15, which marked her top pace of the season. During her first time competing in the event, Modglin also had a strong showing as she placed third in 16:53.81.
Paige Whitmire continued her outstanding season as she posted the top time in the 100-backstroke. During the event, she paced the field with a time of 55.43. Her performance led a strong effort by the Nittany Lions as Hailey Campbell, Kristen Rodman, and Becky Yokosh all tallied top-five times as well.
The squad also placed four competitors in the top-five during the 100-freestyle. Sam Palser led the way with a second-place showing after she clocked in at 50.34. Katie Pulos, Erin Thomas, and Kristen Rodman followed close behind and rounded out the top performers.
The Lions also had a strong showing in both relay events as the team posted a pair of second-place efforts. In the 200-medley relay, the foursome of Campbell, Krawczyk, Pulos, and Alexandra Young was the runner-up with a time of 1:44.23. Later, Whitmire, Rodman, Pulos, and Palser took second in the 200-freestyle relay after completing the discipline in 1:34.06.
In other action, Megan Marco placed third in the lone diving event of the night as she posted a score of 235.80 in the 1-meter board. Mackenzie Powers was also the top Nittany Lion in the 100-butterfly after placing fifth in 56.36.
Penn State will wrap up the two-day competition on Saturday with action beginning at 11 a.m.