Feb. 20, 2014
Big Ten Championships | Results | Championship Central Minneapolis, Minn. • University of Minnesota Aquatic Center | No. 23 Penn State |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; Feb. 20, 2014 - The No. 23 Penn State women's swimming and diving team moved up in the team standings after a strong showing in the second day of the Big Ten Championships on Thursday. The Nittany Lions registered seven top 10 performances, which were highlighted by a fourth place finish in the 200 free relay.
"From a team standpoint we had a lot more energy tonight," said Penn State swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy. "Getting another "A" cut in the 200 free relay was a great way to start off and it was good to see some of the younger athletes step up for us. Now we are focused on tomorrow morning and getting more swimmers in the finals."
PSU surpassed No.15 Ohio State (151 points) and No. 19 Wisconsin (144 points) to take over the No. 3 spot in the team standings. The Lions trail No. 12 Minnesota (258 points) and No. 13 Indiana (211) heading into the third day of competition.
The Blue and White picked up where they left off last night with a phenomenal performance in the 200 free relay. The quartet of Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec), Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.), Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) and Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) clocked in at a season-best and NCAA "A" qualifying time of 1:29.51 to finish fourth overall and secure a spot in next month's NCAA Championships.
Ackman also performed well individually, earning fifth place in the 500 free in a season-best 4:42.53 while teammate Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) followed in sixth place with a time of 4:45.14 and Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) placed 10th in a season-best 4:45.21. Sowinski, a freshman for the Nittany Lions, notched a season-best mark earlier in the day in the prelims, touching the wall in 4:42.87. Each of the swimmers' marks hit the NCAA provisional standard for the event.
Two more top 10 performances came in the next event of the evening as Shishkoff and Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) placed seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 200 IM while also meeting the NCAA "B" standard. Shishkoff posted a time of 1:58.74 for seventh place and Sinatro followed closely at 1:58.99 for 10th place.
Fittin registered the final top 10 performance of the day, turning in a season-best and NCAA "B" standard mark of 22.55 for a sixth place finish in the 50 free. The junior was just .03 second short of surpassing her career-best mark in the event.
The Blue and White return to the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Friday for the third day of action. Competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. with the 400 IM prelims. Events finals are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start.