Jan. 27, 2009
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Penn State senior Karie Haglund (Marietta, Ga.) was awarded Big Ten Women's Swimmer of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 27, conference officials announced Tuesday.
Swimming in the final home meet of her career, Haglund posted three first-place finishes, including two individual events, to lead Penn State in a 109-58 dual-meet victory over Rutgers Saturday.
"As a senior, we are really proud Karie was able to end her career at McCoy [Natatorium] on a high note," head coach John Hargis said. "She excelled in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes"
The senior notched times of 1:02.57 and 2:16.47 in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes, respectively. In the 200-yard breaststroke, she touched the wall 11 seconds ahead of the next finisher.
She also teamed up with Sarah Baker, Michelle Myers and Kelly Nelson to win the 200-medley relay in a time of 1:43.78.
Haglund, along with Baker, Nelson and Kaitlin O'Brien, also set a pool record in the 800 freestyle relay. The team, as an exhibition, posted a time of 7:26.19, which was nearly a full second faster than the previous best.
"Halgund will play a vital role for us at Big Ten's and NCAA's this year," Hargis said.
The Marietta, Ga., native collects her first career Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award. It is the Nittany Lions' third, and second consecutive, Big Ten Swimmer of the Week laurel of the season. Caitlin Meehan and Kaitlin O'Brien previously won the award for Hargis' squad.
The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to the water this weekend, traveling to Columbus, Ohio for a dual meet against Ohio State.