UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - Following a 266 day hiatus, Penn State Swimming and Diving will return to McCoy Natatorium in the heart of Happy Valley, to face off against the University of Pittsburgh.
Both men’s and women’s competitions are set to begin at 5:00 P.M. on Friday October 25th, and continued at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, October 26th. This matchup marks the first time that the Nittany Lions will compete at home under new leadership, with Hollie Bonewit-Cron as the program’s new head coach.
This competition will serve as a rematch from last season where the Panthers and Nittany Lions battled for the Commonwealth at a neutral site, where both teams eventually lost.
Men
The men enter this matchup 1-0 on the season following a 172-128 victory over Navy on the road. To welcome swimming back into Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions welcome Pittsburgh for the first time at home since 2004, where the Panthers took a close battle with a final score of 125-118. Pittsburgh holds the competitive edge over Penn State, leading the all-time matchup record 36-16.
These familiar foes have faced off in each of the last two seasons, at neutral sites and in Pittsburgh, where Penn State had dropped each of those meets as well. In the most recent competition, Pitt dominated the competition earning a 256-97 win, helping to extend their all-time record to 26-16 over the Nittany Lions.
In their season opener against Navy, Penn State earned victories in eight different individual races and one relay, to earn their seventh consecutive win over the Midshipmen.
Sophomores Tylor Kim and Alex Karahalis accounted for four-of-eight of those victories; Kim touching first in the 50 and 100 Free, Karahalis in the 200 Fly and 200 IM.
The Nittany Lions return 2024 Big Ten champion Mariano Lazzerini, who added another victory in the 200 breast in the season opener. Lazzerini capped off his sophomore campaign by breaking a career and school record in the 200 Breast at the conference championship, and looks to carry this competitive edge throughout the entirety of this season.
Penn State enters the season with two highly competitive relay teams in the 400 Medley and 200 Medley. The 400 Medley posted a 16th place finish at the NCAA championships, featuring returning swimmers Cooper Morley, Mariano Lazzerini, and Matthew Bittner. The 200 Medley consistent of these same three returners broke the previous school record in this race, with a time of 1:22.93.
Hayden Elliot was the lone victor for the diving competition in his sophomore season debut, posting a 318.23 in the three meter dive. Elliot was closely competitive with Alexander Reese and Isaiah Clerkley in the one meter dive, as the three posted a 2-3-4 finish.
Women
The women’s team are hot on the heels of a big 158-142 win at Navy in the season opener, to mark their 13th consecutive victory over the Midshipmen on the road. Now looking to welcome in-state rivals, the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State has worked tirelessly for the last three weeks hoping to claw out another win.
Penn State holds the all-time record 23-10 over Pittsburgh, despite dropping their most recent matchup 199-154 at a neutral sight matchup.
In their season opener, the women took first in seven different events, and added podium sweeps in three. Junior Catherine Meisner earned two victories in Annapolis, in both the 100 and 200 Free. Meisner also contributed to a first place finish in the 400 Free relay. She was joined by her twin sister Julia Meisner, who also touched first in the 200 Fly.
On the road, junior Morgan Moore took the first individual win of the Nittany Lions 2024-25 campaign, touching first in the 1000 Free, outswimming her closest competitor by ten seconds. Moore also touched second in the 500 Free, only second to her own teammate, Julia Barto.
The 400 Free relay, consisting of Catherine Meisner, Ellie Brandbergh, Maura Fleuhr and Margaret Markvardt earned gold with an impressive time of 3:27.66 in their debut. The Nittany Lions also boasted a close second place finish in the 200 Medley, starring Molly Carson, Karina Kanary, Margaret Markvardt and Ellie Brandbergh, tallying a time of 1:44.90.
The Blue and White added two consecutive 2-3-4 finishes in both the 1 meter and 3 meter dives. Abbey Ekstrom tallied both second place finishes on the day, and was joined alongside Grace Brammer and Anna Mae King in consecutive third-place finishes on the day.
Events will kick off at 5:00 P.M. EST on Friday, October 25th, and will resume at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday October 26th.
For updates on Penn State Swimming and Diving’s performances this weekend, follow the team on Instagram @PennStateSwimDive and X @PennStateSwim !