Nov. 5, 2016
| PENN STATE at VIRGINIA/MICHIGAN | |
Men: No. 6 Michigan 217, Penn State 126 | |
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 4-5 | |
| UVa Aquatic and Fitness Center | Charlottesville, Va. | |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ââ'¬" NCAA 'B' cut swims and event wins from Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) and Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) Saturday led their respective Penn State swimming & diving teams on the second and final day of competition in a double dual meet against Michigan and Virginia in the University of Virginia Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Despite the standout performances, the Penn State men fell to No. 6 Michigan, 217-126, and No. 25 Virginia, 236-115. The Penn State women fell No. 1 Michigan, 270-83, and No. 6 Virginia, 266-87. It was a weekend of progress for the Nittany Lions though.
"Last night and today, as a team, we had a very high percentage of almost all in-season best times," said Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. "In terms of responding to the competition, that was good. I think the team feels good about the work that we have done to this point in time that it is starting to show up. It's encouraging that we're on the right track."
Ryan ultimately won three individual events for the men's side over the two-day meet. He swam the fastest 100 free time in the NCAA entering the weekend Friday evening, winning the event in a pool record 43.09 seconds. He followed Saturday with a victory in the 50 free in 20.09 seconds, achieving the NCAA 'B' standard and also winning the 100 back in a pool record 47.19.
On the women's side Saloky also reached the podium twice Saturday. She won the 50 free in a 'B' standard time of 22.90, and then placed third in the 100 butterfly in 54.49 seconds.
Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) also had a strong day, placing second in the 400 IM in a personal best and NCAA B-standard time of 4:15.54. Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) followed in sixth in 4:21.91 and Megan Wujciak (Livingston, N.J.) was eighth in 4:22.67. The Nittany Lion women also saw success in the 1000 freestyle, led by McHugh, who placed fourth in 9:58.05. Francis and Amber Glenn (Ventor, N.J.) followed in fifth (9:59.17) and sixth (10.00.96), respectively. Freshman Maddie Hart (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) placed fifth in the 100 backstroke in 57.19.
Additional strong performances on the men's side included Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) in the 200 freestyle, as he placed second in 1:38.92. JP Cervone (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Ryan O'Neill (Howell, N.J.) were also strong in the event, posting times of 1:39.73 and 1:39.76, respectively. Kaelan Freund (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) was solid in the 200 breaststroke, placing sixth in 2:03.58.
Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) placed third in the 1-meter dive with a score of 290.70, following up on a third-place finish in the 3-meter Friday (312.15).
Additionally, on Friday, Ryan also led the 400 medley relay team to a second-place finish in 3:15.23, while Freund took bronze in the 100 breaststroke in 55.58 seconds, narrowly missing the NCAA B-standard of 55.39.
On the women's side, Penn State saw its most success in the 200 freestyle relay, as the team of Saloky, Siena Salvaggio, Niki Price (Manchester, Pa.) and Katrina Kuhn (Piscataway, N.J.) placed third in a season-best 1:32.34. Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) posted the highest individual finish, taking fourth in the 1-meter dive with total of 250.15 points.
Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) led a trio of season-bests in the 500 free placing fifth as she touched in 4:51.16. She was followed by McHugh in a personal-best 4:51.36 and Francis in 4:52.52, placing sixth and seventh, respectively. Sowinski also led Penn State in the 200 butterfly (2:02.96).
Next, the Penn State divers will head to Princeton next weekend for a diving, while Casey Francis, Katelyn Sowinski and Shane Ryan compete in the USA College Challenge against members of the U.S. National Team.