ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior Hector Garcia Boissier swept the diving events and Gabe Castano and Michael Daly earned first-place finishes to lead Penn State men's swimming and diving during the first meet of 2019 against Navy and UNC Saturday morning Lejeune Hall at the Naval Academy.
Penn State finished the day trailing 163.50-131.50 against Navy, and falling to UNC 155-145.
From the Coach
Head Coach Tim Murphy had great things to say about the swimmers and divers. Saying, "Michael Daly had a real nice meet setting the second fastest 1000 free in Penn State history". Murphy had praise from Freshman William Lulek saying, "He's been hurt for a good portion of the season and actually swam an exhibition in the 400 IM and it was just a real nice swim for him and finally broke through. We're very pleased for him".
As for the meet itself Murphy stated that "We were good in spots and a little sloppy in others. We had some good things accomplished that got us back in the racing mood after not racing for a while now. Shows us where we're at and what we need to focus on".
Nittany Lion Relays
To start the weekend off, the team of Liam Veregin, Brad Johnson, Matthew Dinunzio, and Gabe Castano placed second in the 200 medley with a score of 1:30.18. In the 400 free relay, Castano, Nathan Schiffmann, Dinunzio, and Will Roberson also placed second (3.01.50).
Top Individual Performances
On the boards, Garcia Boissier won both the 1-meter dive and the 3-meter dives. Boisser won the 1-meter with a final score of 395.25, and scored a 392.75 in the 3-meter. Jack Crow also had two top-five finishes, placing third in the 1-meter (314.40) and fourth in the 3-meter (314.45).
"Hector did well today on both boards," said diving coach Jeff DiNicola. "The guys had a bit of a rough start on the three but still had some decent dives in the meet. They came back and made the needed adjustments and all dove well in the one meter."
For the swimmers, Castano cemented the solid day for the Nittany Lions with a first-place finish in the 100 free (44.92). The Nittany Lions finished off the meet by taking the first two places of the 400 IM. Leading the sweep was freshman Daly (3:55.75) followed by Hayden Harlow (3:57.30).
Starting off for the Nittany Lions was Daly, placing second in the 1000 free in 9:11.85, the second-fastest time in the event in school history. Following him was Nathan Schiffman, who had two top-five finishes in the 200 free (4th, 1:40.84) and the 500 free (3rd, 4:33.47).
Also with top-five finishes were Teddy Perelli and Will Roberson. Perelli placed fourth in the 200 back (1:52.05) and third in the 400 IM (4:04.80), while Roberson placed second in the 50 free (20.42) and fifth in the 100 free (45.75).
Next Up
Penn State men's swimming will return to McCoy Natatorium on Friday, January 18th when the face West Virginia at 4.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
A fundraiser has been launched to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte (Lenhartsville, Pa.) and her family for costs associated with her leukemia treatment. Any surplus funds will be donated to THON and the Jessie Rees Foundation to help others facing pediatric cancer. Donate at gopsu.info/nikistrong
