PRINCETON, N.J.- The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving team return to the pool for the squad's midseason focus meet at the Big Al Invitational hosted by the Princeton Tigers. The event will begin on Friday, Dec. 1 and last through Sunday, Dec. 3. Preliminary races will begin at 10 a.m. each day and finals will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Both teams had a successful fall campaign, with three straight wins to open the season.
Men's
The men's team was victorious in their first three meets, but lost in the tri-meet to both Pitt and Notre Dame.
Throughout the first three meets, we saw many dominant forces who were unbeaten following the third meet against West Virginia. sophomore Cooper Morley was undefeated in the 100 back, and junior Sam Folger had three first-place finishes in the 100 fly. Both stayed strong against Pitt and Notre Dame, competing in different events.
Freestylers Victor Baganha and Eduardo Cisternas were also undefeated in their events after those first three contests, junior Baganha in the 50 free and sophomore Cisternas in the 500. These two swimmers did not attend the tri-meet against Notre Dame and Pitt, as they were competing at the Pan American Games. While at the Pan Am's, Cisternas placed 7th in the 400 free, and Baganha placed 6th in 100 fly. Back with the Nittany Lions, the duo will be looking to keep their undefeated streak going.
A swimmer to watch in the meet against Notre Dame and Pitt was sophomore Andrew Christensen who posted two fourth place finishes in the 400 IM and 500 Free on day one of the meet and had a third place finish in the 1000 free on day two.
The men's relay teams will be looking to make a splash as they start competition back up in Princeton. Penn State was undefeated in the 400 medley relay in the first three meets of the season, and showed continued strength as the team of Morley, Kim, Folger, and senior Ben Doyle placed fourth in the tri-meet.
The 200 free relay was another unbeaten event following first three outings as well as the 400 free relay team of Morley, Kim, senior Lachlan Byrne, and senior Tommy Hurley placed 4th in South Bend.
On the diving end, the men's team is led by sophomore Hayden Elliott and senior Kevin Sullivan who continue to place in both events. In the tri-meet, Elliott placed third and Sullivan placed fifth in the 1-meter, and they placed fourth and sixth respectively in the 3-meter.
Women's
The women's team has the same record as the men, with three straight wins to start off the season, and tough losses against Notre Dame and Pitt.
There are many women's swimmers to keep an eye on in the upcoming meet due to their impressive performances this far.
The Penn State women have yet to lose in the 200 free this season. Senior Cat Stanford won in the first meet with the sophomore Meisner sisters, Catherine and Julia placing first in the second and third meets. At the tri-meet, Catherine Meisner won again, securing a much-needed victory against the Irish and the Panthers.
Cat Stanford has been a swimmer to watch this season with many first-place finishes and even more top-three ranks. She placed first in the 100 free in the first three meets of the season and took second in this event in the tri-meet. She has multiple top finishes in the 200 free as well.
Catherine Meisner is dominant in the 500 free with finishes in third and a sixth-place finish in the last meet.
In the tri-meet, the top finishers were Meisner in the 200 free, along with senior Abby Henderson who won the 400 IM. Sophomore Morgan Moore was impressive with two second-place finishes in both the 500 free and the 100 free.
For the relays, the 200 medley relay and the 400 medley both have two finishes in second. The 200 medley placed third in the tri-meet and the 400 placed fourth. Penn State also placed fourth in the 200 free relay.
Going into the meet against Notre Dame and Pitt, divers Abigail Ekstrom and Kailey Koval placed in the top-three in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter in each meet of the season so far. The freshmen duo was impressive in the tri-meet with Ekstrom placing third and Koval placing fourth in the 1-meter, and Koval taking another top-three dive with third in the 3-meter.
Both the men's and women's teams will be ready to compete after some time-off of competition and will be looking to grab another win at the Princeton Invite.
Next Up
Following the invite, Penn State will take a break from competing until their meet against Army on January 12th in West Point, N.Y.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
