March 22, 2014
 NCAA Championships | Minneapolis, Minn. • University of Minnesota Aquatic Center |
18th - 42 pts. |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; March 22, 2014 - It was another banner day on Saturday for the Penn State women's swimming and diving program as five Nittany Lions garnered All-America accolades. The Nittany Lions placed 18th in the team standings with 42 points, which counts as the best team finish since 2005 when PSU finished 13th overall.
"It was an extremely challenging meet and the ladies did a very good job overall," said Penn State swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy. "They were competing against some of the best competition in the nation and I was very proud of what they did individually and collectively. Now it's time for the ladies to appreciate what they have accomplished this week and throughout the season overall."
Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Alyson Ackman's (Montreal, Quebec) performances highlighted the day as each earned individual All-America honors.
Siverling gave a career-performance in the 1650 free as she shattered her own school record in the event (16:09.40) with a mark of 16:06.20 to finish 15th overall. The junior has now earned honorable mention All-America honors twice after receiving the laurels at last year's Championships in the same event.
After a stellar day two to the NCAAs, Ackman returned to the pool on Saturday and turned in another All-America effort. The sophomore received her fourth All-America honor of the weekend in the 100 freestyle, racing to a 12th place finish with a time of 48.06, and added another All-America award to her resume as a member of the 16th place 400 freestyle relay team. She has now reached All-America status a total of six times in her two seasons as a Nittany Lion.
The team of Ackman, Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.), Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.) and Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) closed out the season on a high note, clocking in at 3:16.41 to finish 16th in the 400 freestyle relay.
Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.), Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico), Mackenzie Powers (Sycamore, Ill.) Kate Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.), Chelsea Weedman (Poway, Calif.) and Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) also competed for the Lions on Saturday. Sowinski swam to a 31st place finish in the 1650 free in a personal-best 16:22.60 and placed 48th in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.59. Rodriguez touched the wall in 2:09.83 in the 200 breaststroke, finishing 20th and Powers clocked in at 1:57.54 in the 200 backstroke to finish 47th.
Rowe, Weedman and Shishkoff each competed in the 200 butterly, placing 19th, 44th and 46th, respectively. Rowe touched the wall in 1:56.64, Weedman turned in a time of 1:59.03 and Shishkoff clocked in at 1:59.18.