BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Penn State Swim and Dive teams will open the 2026-27 season at the Virginia Tech Invitational this Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, at Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. Live results will be available via Meet Mobile.
Friday’s competition begins at 5 p.m., while Saturday’s will start at 10 a.m. The men’s team will compete in dual meets against Virginia Tech and West Virginia, while the women’s team will face Virginia Tech and Liberty.
The Nittany Lions will head into their first dual meets in their 2026-27 campaign after a successful Blue and White scrimmage at McCoy Natatorium. Performers who led the way were Tylor Kim on the men’s side and Katie Ketter on the women’s side, both of whom are Big Ten Swimmers to Watch honorees.
Newcomers Hannah Wilson and Charlie Begin also had promising performances for the Blue and White. On the diving side, Alex Wodehouse, a Big Ten Diver to Watch honoree, shined on the boards ahead of the season-opening competition.
In addition to Wilson and Begin, the program welcomes a plethora of newcomers, including Gabi Abruzzo, Gabriel Campos, Roman Dawson, Kate Fedor, Caleb Katt, Hailey Marinovich, Sara McNabb, Pedro Medrado, Mimi Poort and Artur Vilela Queiroz.
Penn State also returns an experienced group for the 2026-27 campaign. In addition to Kim, Ketter and Wodehouse, the Nittany Lions bring back several key contributors from last season who will look to build on their performances as regular-season competition begins, including Alex Karahalis, Kailey Koval and Alex Reese.
On the coaching side, Head Coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron, in her third season, added Patrick Hemingway, Jackson Lustig, Omar Ojeda, Samantha Pickens and Mike Smiechowski to the swim and dive coaching staff.
This will mark the fifteenth meeting between Penn State and Virginia Tech for both the men’s and women’s programs. The women take on Liberty for the fifth time, and the men take on West Virginia for the 39th time.
Stay tuned throughout the season by following the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive) and X (@PennStateSwim).