March 23, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- On the final day of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, No. 24 Penn State had just one student-athletes compete in the finals on Saturday inside the IU Natatorium and IUPUI Sports Complex. Two school records fell on the day as freshman Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) eclipsed her old mark in the 200 breaststroke and sophomore Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) broke the school standard in the 1,650 freestyle and earned All-American honors.
Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) closed out the competition for the Blue and White when she took to the lanes for the longest event of the program, the 1,650 freestyle. The sophomore made the most of her final swim of the season when she shattered her personal best and the school record to finish 16th overall and earn honorable mention All-America accolades in the event by winning her heat in a time of 16:09.40. She bested the six-year old record that was held by Nikki Collins at 16:12.44.
Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) arrived on campus in January and quickly became one of the top competitors on the team and finished her first trip to the NCAA Championships with a school record effort in the 200 breaststroke. The rookie grabbed 19th overall in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.29 to better her 2:10.70 performance from the Big Ten Championships earlier this month.
A trio of seniors made their final laps in the blue and white, with Amy Modglin (Ft. Myers, Fla.), Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas) and Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.) all finishing up their careers at the NCAA summit. Modglin was first up on the day three program and nabbed a 22nd place showing in the 200 backstroke and swam the team's second fastest time of the season when she touched in 1:54.69. She also owns the best time on the squad when she logged a 1:54.63 at the Georgia Fall Invitational.
In the 100 freestyle, Whitmire notched the second fastest swim on the squad in the event when she pulled in a 21st place finish in 48.86. Freshman Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) made her final individual swim in the 100 freestyle, as well, with a 49.73 showing to grab 47th in the event.
Krawczyk closed out a decorated career in the 200 butterfly when she logged the third fastest time of the season in the event for Penn State at 1:57.81 to finish 23rd overall. A pair of juniors also competed in the event, with Chelsea Weedman (Poway, Calif.) placed 25th in 1:57.85 and Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) touched the wall in 1:59.03 to place 37th in the field of 49 swimmers.
The final relay of the competition was the 400 freestyle relay. Seniors Whitmire and Krawczyk bookended sophomores Carolyn Fittin (Sea Grit, N.J.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) to post their third fastest time of the year. The time of 3:18.70 was good for a 22nd place showing.
Penn State ended the NCAA Championships with 21 points to finish in 29th place.
--NITTANY LIONS--