UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to Happy Valley after over three months away from home. The Nittany Lions welcome Villanova to McCoy Natatorium for their home senior meet Friday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.
Senior ceremonies will begin at 3:20 p.m. prior to the start of competition.
Penn State looks to conclude the regular season with a win after tough losses to Virginia Tech two weeks piror. This meet marks the regular season finale before the team heads to Big Tens
Men
The men's team was taken down by Virginia Tech 208-92. However, they had a strong win against Army the week before that, and an impressive 2nd place at the Big Al Invitational in Princeton.
Sophomore Mariano Lazzerini has had impressive performances up to now. This past meet at Virginia Tech he had a second place finish in the 100 breaststroke. This comes after the Nittany Lions' meet at Army where he had two-top three finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Another sophomore, Cooper Morley is coming off of two meets where he placed first in the 100 backstroke. He will be looking for a third win this weekend against Villanova. Both Lazzerini and Morley were also contributors to a big second place relay with junior Victor Bagana and senior Tommy Hurley.
Until this past weekend, Baganha had yet to go a meet without winning an event, and was undefeated in the 50 free. Against Villanova, he will be looking to take another win.
While in Blacksburg, senior Kevin Sullivan had the only top-three dive finish for the men by taking third in the three-meter.
Women
The women's team also had a tough loss to the Hokies, losing by a score of 218-82. They are also coming off of impressive performances before that, with a win against Army and second place finish at the midseason invitational at Princeton.
Cat Stanford has been a force to be reckoned with this season, posting wins and top-three finishes at every meet. That continued the past weekend with a third place in the 100 free in Blacksburg.
Sophomore Catherine Meisner was one to watch at the Virginia Tech meet with a second place in the 200 free and a third in the 500 free. The 500 has been her event this season with four wins so far.
The seniors were impressive against Virginia Tech with Kylie Rydland getting third in the 100 breaststroke and Margaret Markvardt taking second in the 100 fly. For their senior night, they will be looking for similar results.
The Villanova women's team is fresh off of a loss to West Virginia University and Iowa State, while the men's team has a win against these teams. Both teams will be hungry for a win at Penn State.
Next Up
This is the last regular season meet of the year, so the team will be off until the Big Ten Championships which begin on Feb. 21 in West Lafayette, Ind. for the women and on Feb. 28 in Columbus, Ohio.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
