March 9, 2014
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The No. 23 Penn State swimming and diving team continues its championship season on Monday as five PSU divers travel to Virginia Tech for the three-day NCAA Zone A Diving Championships. Two Nittany Lions will represent the men's squad while three women divers will take to the board for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. later this month.
Senior Kyle Kachurick (McKeesport, Pa.) and junior T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) will represent the men over the next three days at the regionals. Both divers are having the best seasons of their careers to date under new head coach Dennis Ceppa.
T.J. Schenkel has enjoyed a breakout 2013-14 season, posting personal best scores in the one and three meter dives. The junior had a standout performance at Navy on January 25, sweeping the two diving events and setting career-best marks in the one meter with a score of 331.13 and the three meter, recording a mark of 355.43. On the season, Schenkel has totaled six victories, three in each event. The junior is coming off an impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships, securing a 14th place finish in the three-meter event with a score of 349.00.
Kachurick has set personal best marks in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events during his senior campaign. The McKeesport, Pa. native had a career day at the Bucknell Invitational on November 24, setting personal records in the one-meter event with a score of 304.80 and the three-meter dive with a mark of 325.00. Kachurick has recorded a victory in the dual against Buffalo in the three-meter competition.
The women's side will be represented by Megan Springsteen (Oswego, N.Y.), Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) and Meredith Harbison (Butler, Pa.), each of whom has shown steady improvement throughout the season.
Springsteen posted season-best marks on the one-meter and three-meter boards at Penn State's home finale vs. St. Bonaventure and Towson last month. The senior turned in a score of 253.65 in the one-meter for her first win of the season and notched a mark of 256.85 in the three-meter.
Harbison has had the best season of her career as a Nittany Lion, registering career marks in both events. The junior claimed first in the one-meter with a personal-best score of 277.28 at the dual with Navy on Jan. 25 and also posted a career mark of 233.40 on the three-meter.
Cornell has had a great rookie campaign for the Lions. The freshman recorded a team-best score of 299.85 on the three-meter board in the dual vs. Navy and turned in a season-best mark of 264.38 in the one-meter. She earned her first collegiate win on the three-meter at the tri-meet with St. Bonaventure and Towson with a score of 276.00.
The NCAA Zone A Diving Championships will begin at noon each day. Live results during the meet can be found at www.divemeets.com.