Jan. 26, 2013
Complete Results | Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Before a large crowd at the McCoy Natatorium on Saturday afternoon, the No. 19 Penn State men's swimming and diving team topped Navy 188-112 for its fourth dual win of the season. The Nittany Lions (4-2, 0-1 Big Ten) took 11 of 16 events from the Midshipmen (5-5, 3-0 Patriot League) in the first program win of the all-time series. The victory was highlighted by two new pool records, one of which came from junior Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.) in the 100 fly.
Grier remains undefeated in both the 100 back and 100 fly, winning today with NCAA qualifying times of 48.32 and 47.98, respectively. The junior set a new pool record in the 100 fly, topping the 2003 time of 48.04 (Eugene Botes) for the second time this season than an at least decade-old record has been demolished. The McCoy Natatorium record in the 100 back, originally set by Josh Weaver (48.58) in 1999, was broken by Grier on Nov. 10, 2012 against Villanova with a time of 48.00 seconds.
In the first event of the day, the squad of Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.), James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.), Grier and Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) claimed victory in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:28.20, breaking the McCoy Natatorium record of 1:29.38 set in 2012. Penn State also took second place, with Jeff Gomez (Morristown, N.J.), Jeff Young (Hershey), Seth Wensel (Christiansburg, Va.) and Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia)swimming a collective time of 1:32.89.
Young had a breakout day for the Lions, leading a Penn State sweep in the 50 free for his second straight victory in the event. His time of 20.86 seconds led Sideras in second place (21.04) and Austin in third (21.08). Sideras went on to win the 100 free with a time of 45.87 seconds, followed by Austin in third (46.45) and freshman Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) in fifth (46.96).
Continuing his streak of winning two events, junior John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.) took first place in both the 200 free (1:39.37) and the 500 free (4:32.54). It was Hauser's fourth time winning the 200 free this season and his first win in the 500 free. Also claiming top spots for the Lions, Wilson dominated the 100 breast with a time of 56.27 seconds, junior Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.) won the 200 fly for the fourth time this season with a time of 1:51.18 and Savoy prevailed in the 200 back with a time of 1:47.55.
Savoy's win in the 200 back kicked off a Penn State sweep, leading sophomore Ryan Magee (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) in second place (1:52.09), Gomez in third (1:52.15), junior Thomas Mershon (Malvern, Pa.) in fourth (1:52.92) and sophomore Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) in fifth (1:53.66). The group of Savoy, Mershon and Gomez also completed a Lion sweep in the 100 back behind Grier, taking second (48.99), third (51.44) and fourth (51.96), respectively. Additionally, Salig claimed a second-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:40.34.
Leading a stellar day for the divers, junior Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, Pa.) notched his two best performances as a Lion on both boards. Earning two second-place finishes, Kachurick recorded a score of 292.42 on the one-meter board and a score of 298.72 on the three-meter board. Also recording a new personal best score, freshman Calvin Morris (Keller, Texas) earned sixth place on the one-meter board with a season-high 237.97. Sophomore T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) went on to claim fifth on the one-meter board with 277.35 and third on the three-meter board with 293.17.
Adding to the Lions' winning score, junior Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.) took second place in the 200 breast (2:04.61) and third in the 100 breast (58.02), while sophomore Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) took second in the 1,000 free (9:27.89) and third in the 500 free (4:39.04).
Rounding out the day, Penn State claimed first place in the 400 free relay with Savoy, Sideras, Young and Salig narrowly defeating the group of Hauser, Grillo, Grier and Austin by .16 seconds with a time of 3:02.50. The second-place winning team recorded a time of 3:02.66.
The Lions will remain on home turf on Saturday, Feb. 2nd when they host Towson on Senior Day. Events will begin at 1 p.m. at the McCoy Natatorium.
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