UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams are hitting the road for a two-day, double dual meet at Virginia Tech, which will also include Big Ten foe Ohio State. The meet is set to begin Friday at 5 p.m. and continue Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Schedule of Events
Friday, Oct. 26th-
Diving Women 3M
Diving Men 1M
200 Freestyle Relay
-Break-
200 IM
500 Free
100 Breaststroke
200 Backstroke
100 Free
200 Fly
-Break-
400 Medley Relay
Saturday, Oct. 27th-
Diving Women 1M
Diving Men 3M
200 Medley Relay
-Break-
1000 Free
50 Free
100 Back
200 Breast
200 Free
100 Fly
400 IM
-Break-
400 Free Relay
The Series
The Nittany Lion men are 0-4 against Virginia Tech, while the women are 3-3. The teams have not seen each other since 2016.
Against Ohio State, the women are 12-1, while the men are 4-18.
Last Time Out for Penn State
The Penn State men and women beat George Washington in a dual meet on Oct. 12 on homecoming weekend. The Nittany Lion men were led by senior diver Hector Garcia Boissier, as he earned a final score of 339.53 in the 1-meter. Freshman Jonah Cey also scored well for the divers, earning his ticket to the NCAA Zone Regionals with his 1-meter dive. For the swimmers, Penn State had solid outings all around, posting the top times and scores in all events but the 200 back. Michael Daly continued his strong start with three top-two finishes, including first in the 200 fly (1:52.27) and 500 free (4:32.92), while finishing second in the 200 free (1:40.91). Gabe Castano won two races, touching first in the 200 (1:40.92) and 100 (45.07) and helped the Nittany Lions to first in the 200 medley relay (1:29.68) and 400 free relay (3:01.07).
The Nittany Lion women finished strong, posting top times and scores in all events. The team was led by senior captain Ally McHugh, as she took first place in the 200 free, breaststroke, and IM. Freshman Marie Schobel led a Penn State sweep of the 100 back and finished the race with a time of 56.33, earning Big Ten Freshman Swimmer of the Week honors. Freshman Brooke Matthias and junior Heather MacDougall followed suit with times of 57.36 and 58.16, respectively. Schobel along with Maddie Cooke, Maddie Hart and Katrina Kuhn took first in the 200 medley with a time of 1:42.51.
Scouting the Hokies
Virginia Tech faced Duke in its season opener, where the men beat the Blue Devils 178.5-121.5, while the women were defeated 123-172. The men are currently receiving votes in the latest Division I TYR Top 25. Senior diver Ben Schiesl was recently named the ACC Men's Diver of the Week for Oct. 15.
Scouting the Buckeyes
The No. 10 Ohio State men's team is currently riding a three-meet win streak, defeating Alabama (156-144), No. 10 Texas A&M (199-153), and No. 11 Louisville.
The No. 15 women's team is 1-1 after beating Alabama (181-119) and falling to No. 5 Texas A&M.
Next Up
Penn State will compete at the Big Al Open Nov. 9-10, while select swimmers will compete at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Purdue Nov. 10-11.
Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics has launched a fundraiser to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte (Lenhartsville, Pa.) and her family for costs associated with her leukemia treatment. Any surplus funds will be donated to THON and the Jessie Rees Foundation to help others facing pediatric cancer. Donate at gopsu.info/nikistrong
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 facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
