Jan. 14, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's swimming and diving team turned in a stellar performance on Saturday afternoon, downing No. 20 Arkansas (167.5-132.5) and Navy (237-63). The Nittany Lions won 10 events on the day, including both relays.
The meet started with the 200 medley relay, where senior Sam Palser (Chester Springs, Pa.), junior Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.), sophomore Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.) and sophomore Rachel Butler (Lancaster, Pa.) took first place, earning a time of 1:42.13, a pool record for the McCoy Natatorium.
Over in the 200 freestyle, Penn State had a nice one-two finish. Senior Erin Thomas (Bangor, Maine) took first place, clocking a time of 1:50.90. Finishing behind her was senior Katie Pulos (Rosemont, Pa.), who earned a time of 1:51.63.
The Nittany Lions had another 1-2 finish in the 100 backstroke. Whitmire won her second event of the day as she timed in at 56.21 seconds. Junior Amy Modglin (Fort Myers, Fla.) finished second at 56.75 seconds. Whitmire's third win would come over in the 50 freestyle sprint event, finishing at 23.16 seconds. In the other backstroke event, the 200 yard, Modglin ran away with a first place finish time of 1:59.76.
Junior Merrit Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas) sneaked by Arkansas' Nikki Daniels in the 100 breaststroke. The junior earned a time of 1:03.07, clipping Daniels by .09 seconds. Krawczyk earned another victory in the 200 breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:15.07.
Sophomore Chelsea Weeedman (Poway, Calif.) was a winner over in the 200 butterfly, clocking in at 2:00.47. Palser followed with her second win of the day with a 51.18 finish in the 100 freestyle.
Penn State again was strong in the relays, as Thomas, Palser, Whitmire and senior Kristen Rodman (Lansdale, Pa.) took first place in the 400 freestyle relay.
Penn State returns back home on Jan. 27 as it faces Villanova.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates throughout the 2011 season.