Women Capture Four Events on First Day of Maryland InvitationalWomen Capture Four Events on First Day of Maryland Invitational

Women Capture Four Events on First Day of Maryland Invitational

Jan. 14, 2011

Complete Results

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.