UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - On the heels of an incredibly efficient offseason, the Nittany Lions are set to open the 2024-25 season with a road trip to Annapolis to take on the Navy Midshipmen in their season opener.
Both the men’s and women’s competitions are set to kick off at 5:00 P.M. this Friday, October 4th.
This matchup serves as a rematch of last season, where the two teams faced off in Happy Valley, that resulted in victories for Penn State on both the mens and womens side.
Men
The Nittany Lions hold the slight advantage in all-time matchups with the Midshipmen with a 6-5 record. These two teams have faced off in each of their last 12 seasons, excluding the 2020 season which was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In their most recent matchup, Penn State recorded their largest margin of victory over Navy with an incredible 192.5-107.5 win. But, the men have not won in Annapolis since 2014, their only victory against Navy on their home turf.
The Nittany Lions enter the meet returning three members of their NCAA championship qualifying relay team with the 400 Medley that finished 16th in the country with a time of 3:05.85. Mariano Lazzerini, Cooper Morely and Matthew Bittner all bring incredible contributions to the team in their own individual events, as well as this relay that remains with one open spot following the departure of senior Lachlan Byrne.
Lazzerini, Morley, Bittner and Byrce all secured All-American honors with their relay performances at the Big Ten Championships as well as the NCAA Championships.
Mariano Lazzerini became a big name in the swim world after winning the 2023 Big Ten championship in the 100 breast with a personal and program best time of 51.08, as only a sophomore. Lazzerini earned All-American honors with his 14th place finish and 51.43 preliminary/51.77 finals times.
Junior Cooper Morely also recorded a big season in both the relay and his individual events, topping his own personal bests throughout the year to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and the individual 100 backstroke.
The Nittany Lions also return junior diver Hayden Elliot who tallied a great sophomore season in 2023-24, exemplifying continuous improvement and leading the team on the diving platforms.
On the other side, Navy comes off of an impressive 2023-24 campaign despite their season-opening loss to the Nittany Lions. The Midshipmen posted an 8-3 record, only tallying losses to Penn State, Notre Dame and Princeton.
In their highly competitive season, they won the Patriot League Championship for the 20th time in 20 years competing at the event. The Midshipmen return 12 competitors from this championship group to compete once again in the Blue and Gold, including Patriot League Diver of the year in Finn Gelbach, and Rookie of the Year in Ben Irwin.
Women
The Nittany Lions boast a 12-0 all-time record against Navy, looking to improve that as they travel into Annapolis. The last time these two teams met was in the 2023 season where they won 196-104.
Penn State recorded their largest margin of victory over the Midshipmen in their first matchup in January of 2012, where they dominated in a 237-63 victory.
The women look to improve as a program under the new leadership in Hollie Bonewit-Cron and Sean Schimmel in their first season in the Blue and White, following their ninth place finish in the Big Ten Championships.
As named to the B1G Preseason Players to Watch list, Abbey Ekstrom returns for her sophomore season with the Nittany Lions following a strong 2023-24 season. Ekstrom posted impressive career-best on both the 1 meter dive (281.05) and 3 meter dive (317.33), and looks to improve upon her second year in the Blue and White.
The Nittany Lions also return a competitive 400 free relay, featuring Catherine Meisner, Maura Fleuhr and Margaret Markvardt posting a 3:16.83 time in the 2024 Big Ten Championships.
As for Navy, they return ten swimmers and divers to the team that earned All-Patriot League accolades, including five all-league honorees from the season before.
The first event begins promptly at 5:00 p.m., stay tuned to our social media pages for live meet updates @PennStateSwimDive !