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ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) won the 200 breaststroke to lead Penn State in a two-day double dual meet against Michigan and Virginia, which concluded Sunday in Canham Natatorium.
The No. 20 Penn State women were defeated by No. 4 Virginia, 238-115 and the host No. 23 Wolverines, 226-127. The Penn State men were downed by No. 8 Michigan, 217-123, and Virginia, 248-104.
"I think overall we were fairly solid, so we got a lot out of the weekend," said head coach Tim Murphy."We were tired and had to race tired because we had put a full week of work in. Going into the meet we knew it would be difficult. I think overall the team handled the atmosphere fairly well."
Rodriguez, who had already achieved an NCAA 'B' cut time in the 200 breast, improved upon her standard to touch first by more than second in 2:13.18. Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo was sixth in the same event in 2:19.08. Gonzalez-Hermosillo was also the runner-up in the 400 individual medley in a personal-best and 'B'-cut surpassing time of 4:17.83. Katie Rowe followed in third in 4:21.85.
"Her 100 [Saturday] was a fairly solid swim, and I think she learned a few things," said Murphy. "She just did a really nice job of racing and not getting caught up in what was going on around her. She kind of swimming her own race and that was a nice effort and a nice time on her part."
Other top performances Sunday included Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.), who both shined in the 50 freestyle, as Saloky placed second in 23.03 seconds and Jones was fourth in 23.22. In the 100 butterfly, Haley Sinatro (West Harford, Conn.) (55.13), Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) (55.28) and Saloky (55.67) swept Michigan. Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) (10:01.64) and Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) (10:08.28) placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 1000 freestyle. In the 200 free, Jones (1:49.02), Megan Wujiack (Livingston, N.J.) (1:49.75) and Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) (1:49.78) placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, all within 0.76 secons of each other. Additionally, Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.) was fourth in the 100 back in 56.26.
Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) led the women's diving effort with a fourth-place finish in the 1-meter (249.15).
The divers continued to lead the Lions on the men's side Sunday, as Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) placed second in the 3-meter with a score of 340.85. The Nittany Lions' top placing in the swimming events was in the 200 medley relay, in which the team of Tomer Zamir (Gesher Haziv, Israel), Andy Schuehler (Camden, N.J.), Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) and Zach Kantz (Mount Bethel, Pa.) placed fourth in 1:32.45.
"I think the second day we were a little bit better than the first day, which is nice to see," said Murphy. "It gives us a little perspective on what we've been doing and where that work is showing up. There were some good lessons from the stern competition"
On Saturday, the 1-meter dive was Penn State's top-scoring event on the men's side, with Logan Knauss (Audubon, Pa.) (306.30 points) and Garcia Boissier (283.75) sweeping the top two places.
For the women, Rodriguez posted her second NCAA 'B' cut time of the season, doing so in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.19 to touch the wall second, earning an event win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions also had a strong performance in the 200 butterfly, with Rowe (2:01.83) and Sowinski (2:01.85) finishing just 0.02 seconds apart in third and fourth, respectively, to also secure an event win over Michigan. Gonzalez-Hermosillo placed sixth in the same event in 2:02.06.
Cornell led the Lions in the 3-meter dive, scoring fourth with 275.70 points.
Top men's performances included Tim Maurer (Hershey, Pa.) placing second against Virginia in both the 200 individual medley (1:52.44) and 200 backstroke (1:53.64). In the 200 butterfly, Rory Lewis (Kensington, Md.) (1:52.40) and Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) (1:52.46) placed second and third, respectively to the Cavaliers, as well.
Next up Penn State will host Connecticut and Princeton in a double dual Nov. 13-14. The double dual will start Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m., and feature two sessions Saturday starting at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.