UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams are hitting the road for a one-day, dual meet at Navy, which will also include ACC foe North Carolina. The meet is set to begin Saturday at 11 a.m. in Lejeune Hall at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Attending the Meet
No one without a Department of Defense ID is permitted to drive onto the United States Naval Academy. All others must park outside of the gates and walk through the visitor's security center. Everyone ages 16 years and older must present photo identification.
The Series
The Nittany Lion men are 3-3 against Navy, while the women are 7-0.
Against North Carolina, the women are 2-6, while the men are 0-4. Penn State saw both the Tar Heels and the Shipman in the 2017-18 season.
Last Time Out for Penn State
The Penn State men and women competed in the Tennessee Invitational. On the boards for the Nittany Lions, Hector Garcia Boissier had two top-three finishes over the weekend in the 1-meter (3rd, 361.65) and the 3-meter (1st, 411.90), a season best.
Penn State was led in the pool by freshman Michael Daly, who had a sixth-place finish in the 1650 free (9:27.10) and an eighth-place finish in the 200 back (1:47.95). Daly also became second on the all-time top times for Penn State in the 400 IM with an NCAA B-cut time of 3:49.09. Hayden Harlow also put his name in the record books with finishes good enough to become the fifth-fastest performer in Penn State history in the 200 IM (1:46.48) and third-fastest in the 400 IM (3:49.09). Also posting NCAA B-cut times were Gabe Castano in the 100 free (43.57).
The women finished the tournament in third place out of the six competing schools. Senior captain Ally McHugh led the women with a first place, NCAA A-cut finish in the 1650 freestyle on the last day of competition. McHugh's time of 15:41.36 secured her ticket to the NCAA's and was just a hundredth of a second shy from the best time in the event this year. She also took home first in the 500 free and second in the 400 IM. Maddie Hart claimed a big second-place finish swimming the 200 butterfly in 1:58.10 earning an NCAA B-cut time. Carly Hart and Olivia Jack both earned B-cuts for their performances in the 100 breaststroke finishing in third (1:01.58) and fifth (1:01.75), respectively. Camryn Barry snagged a fourth-place finish in the 200 free with an B-cut time of 1:47.62. On the boards, the Nittany Lions saw four top-ten finishes from both Kamryn Umbel and Christina Crowell. Umbel took eighth (245.25) in the 1-meter and sixth (272.70) in the 3-meter, while Crowell snagged ninth place spots in both dives.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The men's team is currently 9-2, with their last meet a loss to Princeton on Jan. 5. They earned 13 votes in the last CSCAA poll. The women's team is currently 10-1 with their last meet against Army on Dec. 1.
Scouting the Tar Heels
The North Carolina men's team is currently 2-0 and last competed in the Georgia Tech Invitational, where it finished eighth out of nine schools. The women are currently ranked 24th in the CSCAA poll with a record of 2-0. They last competed at Georgia Tech coming in sixth place overall.
Next Up
Penn State men's swimming & diving will host West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. and the men's and women's teams will return to action against Bloomsburg for Senior Day starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.
A fundraiser was launched to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte 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.
