Oct. 19, 2012
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - The Penn State men's swimming and diving team kicked off the 2012-13 season in style, defeating West Virginia 174-69 in the first dual meet of the year. Sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) and junior John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) led the squad, each recording two first place finishes. The Nittany Lions claimed victory in 10 of 11 events and recorded 29 top three finishes.
Ankosko gave the Lions an early momentum surge, taking first in the 1000 free with a time of 9:26.35 and leading a Penn State sweep ahead of freshman Will Lee (Hershey, Pa.; 9:31.40) and junior Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.; 9:38.49). Claiming victory in the 500 free, as well, Ankosko finished in 4:34.97 preceding Lee in third place with a time of 4:42.41.
Hauser dominated the 200 free and the 100 free, registering times of 1:40.98 and 46.16 seconds, respectively. The junior led Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.), who finished second with a time of 1:41.27, in the 200 free, while freshman Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.; 46.22) and Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia; 46.78) followed Hauser in second and third place in the 100 free.
The Lions claimed the top two spots in the opening 200 medley relay, with the team of sophomore Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), junior James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) and junior Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) claiming victory with a time of 1:30.89. Earning second place in the event, Ryan, freshman Max Byers (Glen Carbon, Ill.), freshman Philip Mancuso (Hershey, Pa.) and Sideras swam a collective time of 1:34.29.
Helping Penn State to its decisive win, four individual Lions recorded first place finishes, including Grier in the 200 back. The junior recorded a time of 1:48.71, preceding Savoy (1:49.11) and senior Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.; 1:53.15) in second and third place, respectively. Also claiming top spots were Cipolla in the 200 breast with a time of 2:06.38, Salig in the 200 fly with a time of 1:49.85 and Savoy in the 400 IM with a time of 4:02.66. Cipolla went on to claim second place in the 400 IM (4:03.27), as well.
Although the Mountaineers won the 50 free, Austin finished second in 21.35 seconds and was followed by Sideras (21.54) and sophomore Jeff Young (Hershey, Pa.; 21.60). Adding to Penn State's top-three spot domination, sophomore Jonathan Ekstrom (Silver Spring, Md.) claimed two third place finishes in the 400 IM (4:09.67) and the 200 breast (2:10.54).
Several freshmen made their collegiate debuts at West Virginia, including Andrew Eiken (Naperville, Ill.), Mancuso, Jon Seiferth (Allison Park, Pa.) and Byers. Byers and Mancuso each recorded second place in the 200 breast (2:09.33) and the 200 fly (1:54.06), respectively, while Seiferth took third in the 200 fly with a time of 1:54.73. Eiken took fourth place in two events, swimming the 200 free in a time of 1:43.19 and finishing the 500 free in 4:44.68.
Penn State closed out the meet just a strong as it started, sweeping the 400 free relay. The squad of Ryan, Hauser, Austin and Grier claimed first with a time of 3:03.18, while freshman Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec), Salig, Eiken and junior Seth Wensel (Christiansburg, Va.) finished second with 3:08.36. The team of Young, sophomore Alex Galinskiy (Parlin, N.J.), Gomez and sophomore Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) swam a collective time of 3:13.38, rounding out the sweep with a third place finish.
The Nittany Lions return home on Saturday, Nov. 10, when the squad takes on Villanova at 11 a.m. at the McCoy Natatorium.
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