ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Penn State men's swimming & diving sent five athletes to finals and podiumed twice, in the 400 Medley relay and the 100 Fly, during Thursday's 2023 B1G Championship races at Canham Natatorium.
"At the end of the day, we ended up with a significant number of lifetime best swims," Penn State head coach Tim Murphy said. "We had a number of freshmen score points, including Hayden Elliot, Eduardo Cisternas, Andrew Christiansen, and Mariano Lazzerini. We also enjoyed watching Kevin Sullivan in diving consuls after a long return from injury. Important day for us tomorrow morning. Looking forward to some great swims and dives."
"Kevin (Sullivan) was really steady today and had some great dives," said Penn State diving coach Jeff DiNicola. "He's coming off an injury and really put in the work. Looking forward to seeing what both he and Hayden (Elliott) do tomorrow on the 3-meter."
Swims:
Victor Baganha's sixth place in the championship A-Final of the 50 Free (19.33) highlighted today's individual racing. Finishing 21st (20.15), junior Tommy accompanied the sophomore sprinter in this evening's event.
The Nittany Lions sent a pair of freshmen swimmers to the B and C finals of the 500 Free. Both Eduardo Cisternas and Andrew Christensen finished fourth, with times of 4:18.86 and 4:23.97, in their respective evening heats. Notably, Christensen dropped a combined 6.85 seconds from his season best during his two swims.
Dives:
Both Penn State divers scored points on the 1-Meter. Sullivan qualified for consolation finals and placed 13th (324.25) in the conference while Elliott took 21st in prelims (254.15).
Relays:
The 400 Medley team, senior Lachlan Byrne, freshmen Mariano Lazzerrini, Baganha and Hurley, podiumed in fifth with a time of 3:07.75. Byrne's lead-off 100 Back split of 46.83, a personal best, improves his position as seventh fastest on the program's top timesheet.
Point Scorers:
500 Free – Eduardo Cisternas (15 Points) and Andrew Christensen (5 Points)
50 Free – Victor Baganha (24 Points) and Tommy Hurley (4 Points)
1-Meter Dive – Kevin Sullivan (14 Points) and Hayden Elliott (4 Points)
400 Medley Relay –Lachlan Byrne, Mariano Lazzerini, Victor Baganha and Tommy Hurley (50 Points)
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions return to Canham Natatorium Friday for day three of the B1G Championships, beginning with prelims at 10 a.m. and concluding with finals at 5 p.m.
Keep up with Penn State swimming and diving by following the team on Instagram (@PennStateSwimDive), Twitter (@PennStateSWIM) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
