Feb. 19, 2014
 Big Ten Championships | Results | Championship Central Minneapolis, Minn. - University of Minnesota Aquatic Center |   No. 23 Penn State |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; Feb. 19, 2014 - Three program records and two NCAA "A" automatic qualifying marks highlighted the opening day of the Big Ten Championships for the Penn State women's swimming team on Wednesday evening at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The Nittany Lions set program-bests in each of the relay events while also securing spots in the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) also recorded an individual record for the Nittany Lions, posting a school record and NCAA "B" cut time in the 200 free as the lead-off swimmer for the 800 free relay team. Ackman registered a lead-off split of 1:44.04 to best her own record of 1:44.83 by nearly a second.
"I think there was a lot of excitement going into the evening," said Penn State head swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy. "Both relays set team records, which is a nice step forward, and Alyson Ackman set a team record in the 200 free leading off the 800 free relay. Of course making `A' cuts is a great achievement as well, so a lot of positive things happened tonight and we are very excited."
The 200 medley relay squad of Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.), Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) and Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) kicked off the 2014 Big Ten Championships by turning in a record time of 1:37.61 for a fifth place finish. The quartet's mark edges the previous top time of 1:37.97 set last season by Powers, Merritt Krawczyk, Fittin and Paige Whitmire.
The 800 free relay team of Ackman, Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.), Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) and Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) followed suit, clocking in at a program-record 7:05.44 and placing fourth in the event. The squad clipped nearly three seconds off of the previous record mark of 7:08.26, which was set a season ago by the same team.
The Big Ten Championships continue on Thursday with a full slate of events. Competition is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the 500 freestyle prelims and finals are set for a 6:30 p.m. start.