UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Swimming and Diving team will host two home meets this coming weekend versus Army and West Virginia. Friday’s meet against Army will begin at 4 p.m., while Saturday’s contest against the Mountaineers will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday’s meet is the annual 800 Strong meet and Senior Day meet.
Saturday’s content will feature two special themed events. On February 1, the team will be hosting Senior Day to send off and honor the class of 2025 and other graduate students. The ceremony will honor nine senior and six fifth- and sixth-year student-athletes. The 800 Strong event is an annual tradition for the team with the goal of having as many Penn State athletes attend to support their fellow Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions return to McCoy Natatorium after hosting Princeton and Virginia Tech for a tri-meet, where the men’s and women’s squad fell to both teams.
Both teams narrowly fell to Princeton, with the men’s team posting a final score of 178-122 and the women 176.5-121.5. The Hokies captured wins against both Penn State and Princeton on the day. With the loses, the men’s team falls to 3-4 on the season while the women stand at 2-5.
Looking forward to this weekend, Penn State is 2-1 all time against Army and 22-16 against West Virginia.
Performers to Watch:
Margaret Markvardt had a solid performance versus Princeton and Virginia Tech, winning the 200 IM with a quick time of 1:59.76. She also placed second in the 100 Fly, tallying a time of 53.29.
Junior Catherine Meisner had a successful weekend, winning the 200 Free with a time of 1:46.57, just one second shy of a new personal best. She also finished third in the 100 Free to tally points for the Nittany Lions.
Big Ten champion Mariano Lazzerini collected two second place finishes on the day, in both the 100 Breast (53.81) and the 200 Medley Relay (1.25.44)
Also on the winning 200 Medley Relay squad was Cooper Morley, who also recorded a second-place finish in the 100 Back with a time of 46.90, just 0.02 seconds behind the gold medalist.
On the diving board, divers Hayden Elliot and Abbey Ekstrom captured second place in 1m Diving (333 points) and 3m Diving (291.10), respectively.
Event coverage will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, January 31, and at 12:45 for senior day recognition on Saturday, February 1. For live updates, tune into @PennStateSwimDive on Instagram and @PennStateSWIM on X.