UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State Nittany Lions men's team soared to their second straight victory to begin the 2023-24 season with a 192.5-107.5 finish against the Navy Midshipmen.
"It's an honor to compete against the Naval Academy," said Head Coach Tim Murphy. "What I really liked is the way they raced the last couple of events. They were tired at that point... but it didn't effect their focus or their effort."
Top Swims:
Sophomore Eduardo Cisternas shaved three seconds off his time from a week ago to win the 1000 free for the Nittany Lions. Cisternas continued to flex his distance swim muscles in the 500 free, winning in 4:30.43. Sophomore Andrew Christensen finished second, four seconds after in the 500 free.
The Nittany Lions built a lead off a clean sweep in the 100 back. Cooper Morley (47.46) dominated, finishing two seconds ahead of teammates Matthew Bittner (49.29) and Lachlan Byrne (49.67). Morley's time against Navy was just two seconds off his personal best of 45.89.
That wasn't the only sweep for the Nittany Lions on the day. Freshman Sean Honey led the charge in the 200 IM finishing in 1:51.10 with three straight Nittany Lions behind him. Bittner placed second with a 1:51.75 and Calvin Wise finished third with a 1:52.28
Mariano Lazzerini beat out the Midshipmen in the 100 breast to take the top spot in a blazing fast 54.35. Lazzerini also impressed in the 200 breaststroke, winning with a three second advantage over the second place Midshipmen.
Junior Victor Baganha raced to a first-place finish in the 50 free, posting a time that is seven tenths off of his personal best. He also had a winning time in the 100 fly.
Top Dives:
Sophomore Hayden Elliot and senior Kevin Sullivan continued to build on their solid 2023-24 campaigns finishing first and second in the three-meter dive. Elliot improved his score by three points and Sullivan improved his three-meter dive score by 47 points.
In the one-meter dive, Elliot took the top spot again with a score of 338.40 which is an NCAA zone qualifier. Freshman Daniel Mcgaughey took third place scoring a 295.05.
Relays:
The men got off to a great start by winning the 200-yard medley relay. The winning team featured Matthew Bittner, Alex Karahalis, Caden Davis and Tylor Kim.
The men ended the meet with an electric performance from Kim, Baganha, Morley and Lazzerini who finished with a four second gap over the Midshipmen.
Winners
1000 Free: Eduardo Cisternas (9:18.45)
100 Back: Cooper Morley (47.46)
100 Breast: Mariano Lazzerini (54.35)
200 Fly: Sam Folger (1:49.10)
50 Free: Victor Baganha (19.80)
100 Free: Tylor Kim (45.24)
200 Breast: Mariano Lazzerini (2:00.10)
500 Free: Eduardo Cisternas (4:30.43)
100 Fly: Victor Baganha (47.30)
200 IM: Sean Honey (1:51.10)
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions will travel to West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers Friday night at 6 p.m.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).