March 2, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 2, 2013-- With a handful of swimmers punching their tickets to the NCAA championships last weekend, the No. 24 swimming and diving program will send just two swimmers to the NCAA Last Chance meet in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.
Freshman Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) and junior Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) will both take to the lanes at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for one last chance at cracking the NCAA A Cut time of 1:54.60 and an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championships on March 21-23 in Indianapolis.
Rowe ranks second on the team charts in the 200 butterfly entering the weekend and placed eighth in the event at last week's Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis. She swam a season-best 1:57.77 in the prelims of the event last weekend at the championships, before clocking a 1:58.96 in the finals against the top swimmers in the Big Ten. Both of her swims at the championships were good enough to earn NCAA B Cut times, which are provisional qualifying times in the event, which are her only two such times this season.
Shishkoff finished 11th in the event at the Big Ten Championships and swam NCAA B Cut times in the prelims and finals. The junior clocked 1:59.36 in the prelims - her second fastest effort on the season - before touching in 1:59.71 in the finals. She has three provisional qualifying times in the 200 butterfly this season and ranks fourth on the team in the event. Shishkoff also owns NCAA B Cut times in four other events; including the 500 & 1,650 freestyle and 200 & 400 IM.
The meet will run all day at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the Ohio State University campus.
--NITTANY LIONS--