Jan. 15, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Headlined by five individual victories and a relay title, the Penn State women's swimming & diving team capped off the University of Maryland meet in fine fashion as the Nittany Lions swept the field with victories over the host Terrapins as well as Pittsburgh and Villanova.
During the two-day meet, Penn State cruised to a 205-146 victory over Maryland and held a commanding 234-117 edge against Pittsburgh. The Lions rounded out the weekend with a 278-73 victory against Villanova.
Once again, Amy Modglin headlined the Nittany Lions' performance as she secured a pair of titles. In the 200-freestyle, she paced the field with a time of 1:50.36. Later, she returned to the pool to take the top spot in the 200-backstroke after touching the wall in 1:57.38. As a whole, Penn State was strong in both events as Erin Thomas finished third in the 200-free, while Hailey Campbell was third in the backstroke.
Chelsea Weedman and Merritt Krawczyk led the way in the 200-IM as the two Nittany Lions secured the top-two spots. Weedman just out-touched her teammate with a time of 2:03.53, while Krawczyk finished the course in 2:04.49.
Later, Krawczyk returned to the pool to capture a title of her own. In the 200-breaststroke, she cruised to the victory with a time of 2:16.82. Rachel Butler also earned a place on the podium in the event as she finished third in 2:20.44.
Alexandra Young continued Penn State's dominance with a victory in the 200-butterfly. During the event, she completed the course in 2:01.75, which easily out-distanced the field.
During the first event of the day, Krawczyk, Paige Whitmire, Mackenzie Powers, and Sam Palser teamed up for an excellent performance in the 400-medley relay. Together, they captured the title with a time of 3:44.27, which was over three seconds faster than the next closest foursome.
In other events, Katie O'Connell was the Nittany Lions' top performer in the 3-meter dive as she posted a score of 239.90, which placed her fourth in the field. Palser also had an excellent individual effort in the 50-freestyle as she finished second in 23.34, while Diana Greco was the runner-up in the 500-free with a time of 4:58.15.
The Nittany Lions will return to the pool next Saturday when the squad hosts St. Bonaventure at noon.