Nov. 8, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Penn State women's swimming and diving program kicked off the two day meet at Charlottesville, Va. on Friday evening with some solid performances by a number of different athletes. The team trails both Texas and Virginia after day one, with a full slate of races scheduled for Saturday.
Penn State had its best showing of the evening in the 100 freestyle. The Lions' Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) and Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.) finished second and third in the race. Ackman grabbed second place with a time of 50.47 and Jones touched the wall in 50.48, tying Alex Hooper of Texas for third.
Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) turned in a solid evening in the first day of competition. The senior posted two fourth place finishes in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle races. Shishkoff touched the wall in 2:01.68 in the 200 and recorded a final time of 4:49.41 in the 500.
Shishkoff was followed by Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Ackman in the 500 freestyle. Siverling finished fifth with a mark of 4:50.39 and Ackman sixth, finishing in 4:51.09.
Another Nittany Lion to record a fourth place finish was Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.). The senior touched the wall in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.67.
In the last individual event of the night, Penn State's Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) raced to fourth in the 200 butterfly. The sophomore posted a time of 2:00.51, the best finish of any Nittany Lion in the event.
In the two relays of the evening, the 200 freestyle and 400 medley, the Blue and White finished third in both events. The team of Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.), Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.), Kaitlin Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and Ackman turned in a time of 1:32.71 in the 200 freestyle to open the evening.
Penn State's 400 medley relay consisted of Powers, Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico), Fittin and Ackman. The quartet raced to a time of 3:44.25 to finish the first day of the meet.
The meet will conclude tomorrow with the second and final day of the meet. The 200 medley relay, the first event on Saturday, is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
After this weekend's competition at Virginia, the men's and women's teams have around a month hiatus before returning to the pool for the Texas Invitational, a three day event at the beginning of December. The invite is scheduled to run from Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7.
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.