UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - The Nittany Lions welcomed the Pittsburgh Panthers for their home opener, the Panthers’ first meet in Happy Valley since 2004. The Panthers tallied twelve first place finishes throughout the eighteen events competed, concluding the first day of competition with a combined 196 - 138 lead over the Nittany Lions.
Penn State tallied victories in three of the first four events, taking an early lead on the day, before the Panthers gauged a major comeback.
“The teams are doing really well considering where their training has been over the last couple of weeks. This is exactly where we want to be, especially as we’re looking towards what we’re going to do by the end of the year,” said head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron.
Men
Junior Eduardo Cisternas touched first in the 500 Free with a time of 4:26.44 to put the Nittany Lions on the board early. On his tail was freshman Ryan Anselm who swam a clean 4:30.00 to add a second place finish.
Junior Mariano Lazzerini added another victory in the 100 Breast with a time of 54.33. On his trail recording a third place finish for the Blue and White was Filipe Pinheiro, who swam a 55.28.
Jack Harvey touched second in the 200 Back, only trailing by two-tenths of a second, with a final time of 1:46.33. Added a third place finish for the Nittany Lions was Sean Honey, who posted a 1:49.57 to give the Blue and White two more podium finishes.
Tylor Kim battled to a first place finish in the 100 Free, posting a final time of 43.94.
The Nittany Lions posted a 2-3-4 finish in the 400 yard IM. Alex Karahalis touched second with a 3:54.65, followed by Sean Honey in third with a 3:59.57, and Andrew Christensen in fourth with a 3:59.57.
Cooper Morley added another first place finish for the Nittany Lions with a 47.48 swim in the 100 Fly. Morley was closely trailed by Victor Bagahna, who touched second with a time of 48.68.
Women
Morgan Moore started the night off strong for the Nittany Lions with the first event title in the 500 Free, posting a time of 4:54.63, outswimming her nearest competitor by four seconds. Sophomore Morgan Jenny trailed closely to add a third place finish for the Nittany Lions, with a time of 5:01.70.
Julia Meisner swam for a third place finish in the 100 Breast, recording a time of 1:06.55. Meisner was closely followed by Audrey Cohen and Mackenzie Pagett, who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Catherine Meisner also touched third in the 100 Free with a 51.32 in an incredibly close competition, where only three-tenths of a second separated first and third.
The Blue and White added a 2-3-4 finish in the 400 IM with freshman Julia Barto leading the pack with a second place finish and time of 4:21.98, followed by Abby Henderson with a 4:23.70 in third, closed out with Julia Meisner in fourth with a 4:25.08.
Relays
The infamous 400 Medley Relay consisting of three returning All-American swimmers from the 2024 National Championship competition in Cooper Morley, Mariano Lazzerini and Matthew Bittner, reigned victorious yet again to earn the first victory of the day with a time of 3:11.59.
Their first place finish was followed by a third place finish in the same 400 Medley relay with Jack Harvey, Filipe Pinheiro, Caden Davis and Victor Baghana all contributing to a final time of 3:16.04.
Penn State added a second place finish in the 200 Free Relay that swam for a final time of 1:20.89, only four-hundredths of a second behind the first place finishers.
Diving
In the women’s three meter, Kailey Koval took silver with a 300.83, followed by sophomore Abbey Ekstrom in third place with a 384.85.
Junior Hayden Elliott added a second place finish in the one meter diving competition with a 333.53.
Top Swims
500 Free: Morgan Moore (4:54.63)
500 Free: Eduardo Cisternas (4:26.44)
100 Breast: Mariano Lazzerini (54.33)
100 Free: Tylor Kim (43.94)
100 Fly: Cooper Morley (47.48)
Competition events will resume at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, October 26th. For more updates, be sure to follow @PennStateSwimDive on Instagram, and @PennStateSWIM on X!