July 27, 2017
2017-18 Schedule (First Half)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - ACC and Big Ten competition fills the first half of Penn State swimming & diving's 2017-18 schedule, which was released Thursday afternoon by head coach Tim Murphy.
Highlights include ACC foes Virginia Tech, NC State and Duke in the first half, with both NC State squads coming off top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. The semester concludes with another new meet on the Nittany Lions' calendar - one featuring three other Big Ten teams - before rounding out the first half at the Ohio State Invititational.
"There's no reason to ease into it," said Murphy. "We might as well set our expectations high and get right at it at the get go. So we've switched some things up."
The Blue-White Intrasquad meet Saturday, Sept. 23 will serve as precursor to the official season opener on Saturday, Oct. 14. Penn State will host a familiar opponent, Virginia Tech, in McCoy Natatorium, but has never swam against Duke in a dual meet and has faced NC State just once back in 1988. The Lions will face both ACC schools the following week when they head to Raleigh, Oct. 20.
After a weekend off, the Nittany Lions will get a preview of the Big Ten competition they will face in February, as they will travel to Minneapolis to race against Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, Nov. 3-4. The fall semester slate concludes the weekend before Thanksgiving at Ohio State, as the Lions will challenge several of the nation's top teams at the Ohio State Invite, Nov. 17-19. It will mark the Lions' second consecutive appearance in the Ohio State meet.
The second half of the schedule will be announced in the fall.
Penn State returns an honorable mention All-American each on its men's and women's teams, respectively. For the men, junior diver Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) cracked the top-16 in both the 1- and 3-meter dives at NCAA's in 2017 and he just missed earning a Big Ten medal, placing fourth in the 3-meter with a school record performance, as he ultimately claimed both school diving records. Garcia also nearly reached the finals of the 3-meter synchronized dive at the FINA World Championships, placing one spot outside the advancing Top 12.
On the women's side, Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) McHugh set school records in the mile and 400 IM, reaching the consolation finals in both at the NCAA Championships with her record mile swim earning her a 10th-place finish. She also won silver in the 400 IM at the Big Ten Championships. Her momentum carried into the summer as she earned three top-11 finishes at the Phillips 66 U.S. Nationals, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 400 IM that earned her a place on the U.S. team for the World University Games in August.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.