March 21, 2012
NCAA Championships Central | Live Results | PSU Swim/Dive on Facebook
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Seven Penn State men's swimmers are at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in suburban Seattle for the 2012 NCAA Championships beginning Thursday as Seattle University plays host. Penn State opens action with Scott Marino (Scotch Plains, N.J.) in the 200 IM at little after 2:00 p.m. ET. In all, the seven PSU swimmers will take part in 12 different events over the championship week as the Nittany Lions look to improve upon its 26th-place showing in 2011.
After Marino's swim in the 200 IM, attention turns to Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) as he makes his NCAA Championships debut in the 50 freestyle prelims. Then Penn State's feature relay, the 400 medley, caps the afternoon's proceedings with the team of Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.), Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.) and Austin. Should any of the competitors make the finals, they will return to the pool after 10:00 p.m. ET.
Friday's action (2:00 p.m. ET) kicks off with the 200 medley relay, which is nearly identical to the 400 squad. The only change is that senior Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.) will anchor the team as he makes his fourth and final NCAA appearance. Marino returns to compete in the 400 IM. The 100 fly features Grier, while the 200 free has Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.) making his NCAA debut as well as 100 breaststroke (Scherer and Alden) and 100 backstroke (Savoy and Grier) to cap the Penn State prelim experience on Friday. The finals again start at 10:00 p.m. ET.
On the final day of the three-day event, Penn State opens with the 200 backstroke (Savoy). Scherer will compete in the 200 breaststroke and Salig will be in the 200 butterfly. Salig became Penn State's all-time record holder in the event just two weeks ago as he cemented his spot in this week's championships, which earned him an invite to the 200 freestyle. Saturday's competition is slated for the same 2:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. ET schedule as Thursday and Friday.
NCAA.com is the online home for coverage of the 2012 Championships with live results. ESPN3.com will be broadcasting Friday and Saturday's finals live beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET. ESPNU is scheduled for a tape delay broadcast on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET of the entire championships.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
(Only events listed are ones which PSU is entered to compete)
Thursday, March 22
200 IM - Marino
50 Free - Austin
400 Medley Relay - Savoy, Grier, Scherer, Austin
Friday, March 23
200 Medley Relay - Savoy, Grier, Scherer, Alden
400 IM - Marino
100 Fly - Grier
200 Free - Salig
100 Breast - Scherer, Alden
100 Back - Savoy, Grier
Saturday, March 24
200 Back - Savoy
20 Breast - Scherer, Marino
200 Fly - Salig
Note: All competition days will have prelims beginning at 2 p.m. ET and finals at 10:00 p.m. ET
--NITTANY LIONS--