Feb. 5, 2016
| PENN STATE VS. VILLANOVA | |
McCoy Natatorium | University Park, Pa. | |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State swimming and diving teams will conclude the regular season by hosting a dual meet against Villanova Saturday starting at 1 p.m. in McCoy Natatorium. Fans should besure to arrive early, as the Class of 2016 will be honored starting at 12:40 p.m.
The meet will be a standard dual meet with 16 events. In addition to exciting racing between the two intrastate programs, The Great Penn State Duck Toss will take place during the first break and an Ability Athletics exhibition race will be held during the second break.
It will be a busy Saturday at Penn State with many Nittany Lion teams in action. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and park for free in the East Parking Deck.
Those that cannot attend can follow the meet with live results on GoPSUsports.com or by downloading the Meet Mobile app their mobile device.
The Series
Both Penn State programs hold winning records over Villanova. The men hold a 26-13 advantage in a series that dates back to 1938, and the women are 21-1 over the Wildcats since 1980. The men have challenged the Wildcats in each of the last three seasons, while the women have done so since the 2007-08 season. Last season, the Lion men won 150-101, while the women won 156-101.
The Nittany Lions
The Penn State women rank No. 21 in the latest CSCAA poll and No. 16 in the latest CollegeSwimming.com rankings, and are 6-2 on the season. The meet against Villanova will be the team's first since Jan. 15-16 at Yale with Rutgers ââ'¬" a pair of wins ââ'¬" as its meet at Navy scheduled for Jan. 23 was canceled due to a winter storm. Seniors to be recognized include Team Captain Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec), Jenna Bickel (Slingerlands, N.Y.), Casey Fazio (Washington Township, N.J.), Kaitlin Jones (Midlothian, Va.), Kelly Kusevich (Gibsonia, Pa.), Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.), Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico), Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.), Sierra Scoggin (Reston, Va.), Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) and Chelsea VanderWeele (Silver Spring, Md.)
The Penn State men (2-6) competed last week at Navy in a tri-meet that included Columbia, falling to the hosts 161-131, but defeating Columbia, 154-123. Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) led Penn State in the distance events, while newcomer Joao Cervone (Sao Paulo, Brazil) also topped the podium in the 200 free. Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain), Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) and Jack Crow (Bethesda, Md.) all had strong performances in diving events as well. Seniors to be honored include Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec), Logan Knauss (Audubon, Pa.), Tim Maurer (Hershey, Pa.) and Team Captain Jon Seiferth (Allison Park, Pa.)
The Opponents
The Villanova Wildcats are a member of the Big East conference.
The men are 2-6 this season, most recently suffering a defeat at West Virginia in their last outing. The team earned back-to-back victories to start 2016 though, defeating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Big East foe Providence.
The women are 8-1 and coming off a 3-0 weekend that included victories over West Virginia, Iowa State and Richmond. Their lone loss was to Penn. Kaisla Kollanus is the reigning Big East Female Swimmer of the Week after she placed first in the 50, 100 and 200 frees.
Next Up
The Penn State men's and women's teams will next compete in the Big Ten Championships. The women will go first, traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feb. 18-20. The men will follow the next week traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana, Feb. 25-27.