March 22, 2013
Thursday Finals Results (HTML) | Thursday Prelim Results (HTML)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- After six events at the 2013 NCAA Championships the Penn State women's swimming and diving squad sits in 20th place with 10 team points. Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas) was the lone individual to advance to an event finals, earning All-American honors in the 200 individual medley, and the 200 freestyle relay team earned All-American honors for the third straight season with a 14th place effort.
Krawczyk started her third championship appearance with a school-record swim in the prelims of the 200 IM. The senior finished 14th in the prelims in a time of 1:57.16, which broke the old school standard of 1:57.17 which she set at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 21. She followed up her record breaking swim with a 1:58.01 showing to finish 13th overall and earn honorable mention All-America status.
The other All-America performance for the Nittany Lions was turned in by the 200 freestyle relay team of Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Grit, N.J.), Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) and Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Ontario). The quartet touched in 1:30.18 to grab the final qualifying spot and the second fastest time of the season in the event, before following that with a 1:30.36 showing to garner All-American accolades for the third straight season with a 14th place finish. Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) narrowly missed advancing to the finals in the 500 freestyle when the sophomore finished 19th overall in her first appearance at the national meet. Her time of 4:42.34 is her second fastest time of the year and the third fastest on the team this season.
Whitmire also competed in the 50 freestyle for the third straight season and posted a 19th place finish in the event with a time of 22.45. An All-American in the event last year, Whitmire owns the team's top eight times and narrowly missed qualifying for the finals. The sprinter kicked off the meet with a 22.24 split as a part of the 200 freestyle relay squad, which was her second fastest time this season.
After swimming two events already on the opening day of the championships, Whitmire was the lead leg of the 400 medley relay squad that also grabbed a 19th place showing. Whitmire, Krawczyk, Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.) and Ackman teamed up to clock the team's second fastest time on the season at 3:36.38.
Day two will start at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 22 with prelims of the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay. The finals of the aforementioned events will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.
--NITTANY LIONS--