Oct. 17, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Led by newly appointed head coach Tim Murphy, the Penn State swimming and diving teams will kick off the 2013-14 campaign on Friday, hosting non-conference rival West Virginia at 5 p.m. at the McCoy Natatorium. Friday's meeting marks the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that the Blue and White have opened their season against the Mountaineers, with the women winning all eight and the men turning in victories in six of those dual meets.
The women's team is coming off a great 2012-13 season as it finished 29th at the NCAA Championships. The Lions set 12 new schools records in 11 different events throughout the season and had seven student-athletes earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Returning for the Nittany Lions are captains Claire Singley (Southlake, Texas) and Chelsea Weedman (Poway, Calif.), along with seniors Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.), Brynja Winnan (West Windsor, N.J.), Megan Springsteen (Owego, N.Y.), Gabi Shiskoff (Franklin, Mass.) and Sarah Somers (Haverford, Pa.). Powers garnered Honorable Mention All-America honors as a member of the 200 medley relay, while juniors Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.), Megan Silverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) and sophomore Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) also earned All-America recognition.
Ackman set new school records in the 200 and 500 freestyle and was also a member of the 800 freestyle relay team that set a school record, along with Shishkoff, junior Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) and sophomore Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.). Silverling and sophomore Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) also posted school records last season. Silverling turned in the top time in the 1650 freestyle while Rodriguez notched top times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Fifteen freshman join the women's squad this season, including Taylor Cameron (Burlington, Ontario), Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.), Anna Farnsworth (State College, Pa.), Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.), Mackenzie Hornibrook (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Taylor Kramer (Naperville, Ill.), Arielle Krigger (Allison Park, Pa.), Hannah Matheson (Skillman, N.J.), Bridget Moody (Port Washington, N.Y.), Kaitlin Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.), Stefanie Schmidt (Victoria, British Columbia), Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.), Kerry Treusdell (Churchville, Md.), Annie Valentine (Dearborn, Mich.) and Megan Wujciak (Livingston, N.J.).
On the men's side, the Lions are coming into the season off back-to-back top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2013 and 2012, scoring at least 50 points in each year. Leading this year's squad are captains Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.) and James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.) and are joined by fellow seniors Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.), Peter Fittin (Sea Girt, Md.), Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.), John Hauser (Pottstown, Pa.), Lucas Kachurick (McKeesport, Pa.), Thomas Mershon (Malvern, Pa.), Matt Salig (Downington, Pa.), Andrew Sideras (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Seth Wensel (Christianburg, Va.).
The Nittany Lions feature five returning NCAA All-America competitors on this year's team, with three of the swimmers claiming the honor in two events. Penn State garnered the recognition from its 200 and 400 medley relay team's performance at the NCAA National Championships in March, with both relay teams reaching the finals of the championships.
The 200 medley relay team featuring Wilson, Grier, Austin and Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) finished sixth in a time of 1:25.52, the second fastest time in school history. The same group of swimmers set the Penn State record for the event earlier in the season at the Big Ten Championships, posting a mark of 1:25.38. The 800 medley relay raced to eighth place at the NCAAs, finishing in 3:08.42. The team was made up of Savoy, Wilson, Grier and Hauser.
In individual events, the Nittany Lions had a number of standout performances during the 2012-13 season. Savoy received All-America honorable mention recognition in two events by placing 14th in the 100 backstroke and 16th in the 200 backstroke at the NCAA Championships. Other competitors at the NCAAs were Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Wensel.
Earlier in the season, Grier was the standout performer for the Nittany Lions at the Big Ten Championships. The Hummelstown, Pa. native grabbed a second place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 46.12 to earn second team All-Big Ten recognition. Grier was responsible for setting two of the three new individual records for the Lions, turning in school-best times in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Ankosko set the other Penn State record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:18.56 at the Big Ten Championships.
The Blue and White features ten new faces to this year's squad, including junior Alex Heil (New Brunswick, N.J.), a Florida transfer, sophomore Tim Maurer (Hershey, Pa.), a Virginia transfer, sophomore Harrison Grimm (Fairview, Pa.) and freshmen Bob Bantley (Maple Glen, Pa.), Bobby Hilzen (Glen Rock, N.J.), Philip Kang (Leonia, N.J.), Conall Loughlin (Bridgeport, Pa.), Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.), Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) and Max Tremain (Mamaroneck, N.Y.).
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the 2013-14 season. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PennStateSWIM and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.