Dec. 6, 2014

ATHENS, Ga. - On the second day of the Georgia Fall Invitational, the Penn State women's swimming and diving team is fifth out of nine teams with a score of 243. The Nittany Lions earned four top-eight finishes in the championship-style competition.

Junior Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) had the top individual finish on the day for Penn State, placing sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Rodriguez touched the wall in 1:01.41 in the finals, clocking in with a season-best 1:01.40 in the prelims. She accumulated 13 points for Penn State.

The 200-yard medley relay team also placed sixth and picked up 26 points, as junior Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.), Rodriguez, senior Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) and junior Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) posted a time of 1:39.35, a 2014-15 top time.

Penn State clocked in at 7:11.73 in the evening event of the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team, consisting of senior Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.), sophomore Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.), senior Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Ackman, took sixth place in its first 800 free relay competition of the season.

Ackman joined Rodriguez with a top-eight individual finish, getting a hand on the wall in 1:45.56 in the finals for eighth place, Penn State's top time on the year. She picked up 11 points for the Nittany Lions.

Fittin swam to a personal-best time of 53.05 in the finals of the 100-yard butterfly, placing 11th.

On the diving side, sophomore Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) took ninth in the 1-meter event, tallying a career-best total of 277.45 in the finals.

The last day of the three-day event will take place tomorrow, Dec. 7. The prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. and the finals take place at 3 p.m. There will be seven women's events on Sunday.