Jan. 22, 2011
Complete Results | Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's swimming & diving squad won its third straight dual meet, downing St. Bonaventure, 141-96, at McCoy Natatorium Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions clinched the meet with three events to go, winning 10 of 13 events on the day.
Penn State (3-4) kicked off the dual meet in impressive fashion, taking the first three places in the 200 medley relay. The C team of Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.), Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.), Scott Marino (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Rob Iosue (Lancaster, Pa.) won in a time of 1:33.42. The B team touched the wall .15 of a second later led by Graham Risley (Riverside, Ill.), Brent Sanderson (Chadds Ford, Pa.), Pierre Keune (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.).
The Nittany Lions took second through fourth in the 1,000 freestyle led by Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.) in a time of 9:42.67. John Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:44.57, edging St. Bonaventure's Kevin Murphy by .05.
Risley took top honors in the 50 free (21.60), while Gomez won the 400 IM (4:09.80) giving Penn State four wins in five events. The Nittany Lions won their fifth event when Jordan Harris (Philipsburg, Pa.) won the 1-meter springboard with a personal best score of 294.98.
Risley captured his second individual win in as many tries when he won the 100 fly in a time of 50.52 with Marino in second (51.72). James Wilson (Sarasota, Fla.) won his first collegiate event, the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.19.
Freestyle specialist Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.) made a rare appearance in the 100 backstroke, winning the competition in a time of 51.29. Josh Wakeley (Egg Harbor, N.J.) posted a win in the 500 freestyle for Penn State's ninth win in 10 events before Harris took second in the 3-meter springboard, notching yet another personal best with a score of 300.45. Through 11 men's events, Penn State locked up the dual meet win, but the strong showings continued in the pool.
Alden won another non-freestyle event with a 56.49-second showing in the 100 breaststroke. James Capparell (Bridgewater, N.J.) was second in a time of 59.75. Penn State capped the day with its B team finishing second in the 200 free relay in a time of 1:27.22. Salig led off in a time of 21.52, giving way to a 21.84 leg by Dustin Folio (Selinsgrove, Pa.), a 21.00 showing by Alden and a 22.86 anchor leg by Jack Zierenberg (Allison Park, Pa.)
Penn State, which is 3-0 in the 2011 season, won its 27th straight dual meet against St. Bonaventure. The Nittany Lions are a perfect 27-0 since the teams first met in 1977.
Penn State returns to action next week at a quad meet in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Nittany Lions will square off against Big Ten powers Michigan, Ohio State and Northwestern beginning Friday and competing the two-day meet on Saturday.
--NITTANY LIONS--