Jan. 26, 2015
By Meghan Miceli, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Fifteen seniors wrapped up their last meet in McCoy Natatorium with a win on Saturday against Navy. Seniors and families gathered on deck prior to the start of the meet where they passed through a tunnel of teammates and received a letterman's blanket as a sign of recognition for their four years of commitment.
Saturday's victory moved the women to 12-1 for the season, and they are currently ranked 17th in the nation. For the men, the win over Navy moved them to a 6-3 record.
Like any Division I sport, swimming requires an enormous amount of discipline and commitment. Each week consists of multiple two-a-day workouts in addition to time spent in the weight room. But the senior class' resilience and dedication throughout the past four years has not gone unnoticed.
"I appreciate their efforts and I appreciate their commitment," head coach Tim Murphy explained. "It's easy to stop doing this, this requires a lot of time, this is a long season. They have kept going and they have stayed with it. That in of itself, I admire and I respect."
In addition to commitment, another key component of the team is communication and working together. The Nittany Lions are a tight-knit group; the men's and women's team practice together every day and consider themselves a family. For senior Jonathan Ekstrom, one of the biggest takeaways he has from his time as Nittany Lion is the camaraderie amongst the team.
"There's a sense of teamwork you get," he said. "You're working with all different kinds of people to accomplish something like competing on a Big Ten squad means a lot not only on a personal level but in the professional level as well from what you learn from the experience."
While Saturday's meet was the final time seniors will race in McCoy Natatorium, the Nittany Lions' season is far from over.
Penn State will travel to two invitational meets in the upcoming weeks, one at Bucknell University and another at Virginia Tech.
"The seniors still have a month, some of them two months, to leave their mark." Murphy said. "I told them on training trip that every time they walk on the deck this is their opportunity to leave behind something that others can build on. I think they're in the process of doing that."
Despite the upcoming invitational meets, the Nittany Lions will spend the next month preparing for the Big Ten Championships. The women will travel to Ohio State University the week of February 18th and the men will venture to the University of Iowa the week of February 25th.
Last year the women finished third in the Big Ten while the men wrapped up their season with a fifth place finish.
Following the Big Ten Championships, those who qualify will compete at the NCAA Championships in March.