Nov. 1, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's swimming and diving team is set to compete in its first road dual of the season on Saturday, as the Lions will face Buffalo at 2 p.m. The Nittany Lions sport a 1-0 record on the young season.
Penn State and Buffalo will square off for the eighth time in program history on Saturday, with the Nittany Lions holding a perfect 7-0 record against the Bulls. The two sides me four times between 1969 and 1972 and then renewed the rivalry in 2010. PSU claimed a 138-97 victory in the last meeting on Feb. 3, 2012.
The Blue and White is coming off a strong showing in the season opener against West Virginia. The Lions touched the wall first in every swimming event on their way to a 153-129 victory over the Mountaineers.
John Hauser (Pottsville, Pa.) was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for his performance in the meet. The senior competed in the 50 and 100 freestyle events and claimed wins in both races. Hauser set the McCoy Natatorium record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.14, which also is an NCAA provisional qualifying time.
Another PSU swimmer who received recognition for his impressive display in the opener was Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.). The senior was awarded the Counsilman-Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com men's Division I swimmer of the week after hitting the NCAA "B" qualifying standard in the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.30 and the 100 butterfly, finishing in 48.10. Grier was the first to finish in each event.
Hauser and Grier were joined by six other Nittany Lions to touch the wall first against West Virginia. Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Matt Salig (Downington, Pa.) recorded the fastest times in multiple events, while Scott Heil (New Brunswick, N.J.), James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.) and Chris Cipolla (South River, N.J.) each also finished first in their events.
Saturday will be the Bulls' third competition of the season. The Buffalo men competed at the West New York Invite to open the season and then faced Cornell in a dual. Neither of the first two competitions were scored.
After Saturday's meet, The Nittany Lions will travel to Charlottesville, Va. for a two-day event with Virgina, Texas and West Virginia. The competition will begin on Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. and the second day of action is slated to start on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.
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.