UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Women's Swimming & Diving team began their regular season with a win over Navy, earning a 209-91 win on Saturday afternoon at McCoy Natatorium. The Nittany Lions swept four events - the 100 back, 50 free, 100 free and 200 back. They were led by Madison Murtagh, Abbie Amdor and Marie Schobel, each winning two individual events.
"There's always an excitement about the first meet of the year," Head Coach Tim Murphy said, "coupled with the team seeing family and friends fill up the stands - there was a great energy in here. It came from the Navy's men and women's teams, and it came from our team, and it came from the stands and it came from the diving boards. It's a really cool place (McCoy Natatorium) when that happens. So it felt good."
Top Swims
In the freestyle, senior Madison Murtagh took home two wins for the Nittany Lions in the 1000 free (10:14.20) and 500 Free (4:55.23).
Junior Abbie Amdor also had an impressive performance in the freestyle, winning both the 200 free (1:49.11) and 100 free (50.72).
Amdor led Penn State in sweeping the 100 free as sophomore Cat Stanford (51.09) placed second and freshman Marly Lough (51.57) came third.
Senior Marie Schobel led Penn State in sweeping the backstroke events, winning the 100 back in 54.70 and the 200 back in 1:58.67. In the 100 she was followed by freshman Molly Carson (55.33) and junior Emma Harvey (55.75). In the 200 Carson (2:02.14) finished second while sophomore Abby Henderson (2:03.26) finished third.
Henderson finished the day with a win in the 200 IM (2:05.90).
Stanford won the 50 free in 23.18. Junior Ellie Tiskus (23.89) followed her to second and sophomore Mary Brinker (23.94) finished third.
Graduate student Maddie Cooke won the 100 breast in 1:03.57 and was followed by senior Olivia Jack (1:04.44) in second.
Sophomore Kylie Rydland (2:20.68) finished first in the 200 breast.
Nittany Lion Relays
The Nittany Lions opened the meet with a one-two finish in the the 200 medley relay. The team of Schobel, Cooke, Harvey and Stanford won the event in 1:40.16 while Carson, Jack, Maura Fluehr and Lough took second in 1:42.85.
The 400 free relay team of Lough, Amdor, Stanford and Fluehr won the event with a time of 3:25.07 to finish the meet.
Event Winners
1000 Free - Madison Murtagh (10:14.20)
200 Free - Abbie Amdor (1:49.11)
100 Back - Marie Schobel (54.70)
100 Breast - Maddie Cooke (1:03.57)
50 Free - Cat Stanford (23.18)
100 Free - Abbie Amdor (50.72)
200 Back - Marie Schobel (1:58.67)
200 Breast - Kylie Rydland (2:20.68)
500 Free - Madison Murtagh (4:55.23)
200 IM - Abby Henderson (2:05.90)
Top Dives
Junior Wei Wei won the women's 1-meter dive with a score of 261.60, narrowly missing an NCAA zone cut.
Senior Sierra Shurts impressed with an NCAA zone cut in the 3-meter (281.63) and finished second in the event.
Next Up
The women's team will head to West Virginia to compete at 6 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 16.
"Starting the season with a win is important," said Amdor. "This made everyone excited for the next meet coming up in less than a week. Everyone's dialed in and pumped for the next one."
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM, on Instagram at @pennstateswimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
