Jan. 25, 2014
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The No. 17 Penn State women's swimming and diving team put on a dominant display for the second consecutive week, claiming a 193-99 victory over Navy on Saturday afternoon at Lejeune Hall. The Nittany Lions posted top marks in all 12 individual races as well as both relays and each of the diving events.
The 200 medley relay squad of Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.), Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) and Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) set the tone for the meet, collecting a win in the first event of the day with a time of 1:42.78. Fittin and Ackman would join up again at the end of the meet, adding Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) to the equation in the 400 free relay for a top time of 3:25.96.
Fittin and Ackman proved to be the big winners of the day as each also claimed multiple victories in their individual events. Fittin clocked in at 23.40 in the 50 free and 55.40 in the 100 fly to win both events while Ackman topped the field in the 100 and 200 free, touching the wall in 50.39 and 1:48.29, respectively.
Powers also found success in the individual races, placing first in the 100 backstroke in 56.18.
Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) was the only Nittany Lion to finish first in three individual events, turning in the best marks in the 200 fly (2:00.08), 200 IM (2:03.73) and 500 free (4:50.78). Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) also performed well for the Blue and White, sweeping the breaststroke events with times of 1:03.42 in the 100 and 2:18.20 in the 200.
Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) picked up a win and turned in a career-best time in the 1,000 free, clocking in at 9:57.76. The junior clipped over two seconds off her previous best entry of 9:59.85, which was posted earlier this season at the tri-meet with Virginia and Texas.
Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) blew by the competition to claim the top spot in the 200 backstroke. The sophomore touched the wall in 2:04.21, almost three seconds faster than the closest Navy swimmer.
In the diving events, Meredith Harbison (Butler, Pa.) notched the top score on the one-meter board while Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) topped the field on the three-meter board. Harbison registered a career-best score of 277.28 on the one-meter and Cornell posted a season-best mark of 299.85 on the three-meter.
The Blue and White return to the pool next Saturday, hosting St. Bonaventure and Towson for their second and final home meet of the season at McCoy Natatorium. The Lions will honor the seniors on the squad in a Senior Day ceremony. Events are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.