2007-08: Dan hit his stride during his sophomore campaign. Although still primarily a backstroker, he tried his hand at other events such as the 50 and 100 frees and the 200 IM. He picked up his third career first place finish in the 100 back at the Hoosierland Open Invitational followed by his fourth in the 200 back against Indian River C.C. Dan added two more first place finishes on the 400 medley relay team agaist West Virginia and Indian River C.C. Dan also earned Academic All-Ten honors and attended the 2008 Olympic Trials this summer.
Meet-by-Meet Highlights: Captured first place in both backstroke events and also was on the first place 200 medley relay team in the dual meet vs. Rutgers....Placed fifth in the 100 back and 200 back and was on the seventh place 400 medley relay team and also swam the 200 IM for the first time on the year at the Shamrock Invitational.
Summer 2007: Swam on the eighth place 400 medley relay team, finished 13th in the 200 back, 24th in the 100 backstroke, and also swam in the 50 and 200 freestyle at the Charlotte Ultraswim of the Grand Prix series. He then finished second in the 100 back, 14th in the 200 IM, and also swam in the 200 free at the Mid-Atlantic Senior Championships. He finished his summer by placing 27th at U.S. Nationals in the 100 backstroke and tied for 31st in the 200 back.
2006-07: Dan quickly developed into the #2 backstroker on the team behind Pat Schirk in his freshman year. He swam mostly in both backstroke events and on both medley relay teams and in fact had only three other swims on the year in events other than those four. He scored points at Big Ten Championships in both backstroke events and ended the year with the second-fastest times of the year on the team in both backstrokes, including an NCAA `B[apos] time in the 200 back. He had three first place finishes in individual events on the year and one in a relay.
Meet-by-Meet Highlights: Placed third in the 200 back and was on the third place 400 medley and fifth place 400 free relay teams at his first collegiate meet, the dual meet at West Virginia....Finished ninth in the 100 back, sixth in the 200 back and was on the seventh place 400 medley and eighth place 200 medley relay teams at the Clemson/Virginia/Virginia Tech/Penn State quad-meet....Swam his fastest time of the year in the 100 back and finished seventh and also finished third in the 200 back and was part of the sixth place 200 and 400 medley relay teams at the Purdue Duals....Picked up points for Penn State in the 100 back (15th place), 200 back (13th place, ninth in the prelims) and as part of the 4000 medley relay team (7th place) at the Bell Grand Prix....Won the 100 back and was on the second place 200 medley relay team in the dual meet vs. West Chester....Captured first place in both backstroke events and also was on the first place 200 medley relay team in the dual meet vs. Rutgers....Placed fifth in the 100 back and 200 back and was on the seventh place 400 medley relay team and also swam the 200 IM for the first time on the year at the Shamrock Invitational....Placed 13th in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes at Big Ten Championships.
High School: Dan earned three varsity letters at Bergen County Academy for Engineering and Design Technology. He was a three-time USA swimming scholastic all-american and a member of the National Honor Society. As a junior, he finished second in the 100 backstroke and seventh in the 200 freestyle at the state championship meet. Then, as a senior, he won the state championship in the 200 backstroke and placed fourth in the 200 freestyle.
Personal: Dan was born on July 7, 1988 in Michigan City, Indiana. He is the son of Joseph and Karen Fimbianti. He is majoring in engineering at Penn State and would like to go to business school after graduation, then get a job that incorporates business and engineering. He lists swimming and relaxing as his hobbies.
Why I Chose Penn State: 'It has an excellent record for both academic and athletic integrity. I also wanted to attend a school with a world renowned engineering program.'