UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's swimming & diving beat Army, 229-68 Friday evening at McCoy Natatorium. During the course of the evening Nittany Lion athletes broke two school records and three pool records and earned four NCAA B-Cut times and five NCAA zone cuts in addition to claiming victory in 15 events.
"I think the records are just a reflection of the quality of work," said Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. "When you do work well, and you do it repeatedly. Those are good records up there, so people performing at that level means they've made a commitment to be consistent. And they're working with very high goals. So that's where they come from. It's very nice when they happen, and they don't happen by accident. The first thing that I told them at the end was how I feel right now. It's just a lot of gratitude."
Top Swims:
Mary Brinker shone in the sprint freestyle events, winning both the 50 and the 100. Touching first with a time of 22.69, the junior earned her first-ever NCAA B-Cut in the 50. She returned to the water 15 minutes later in the 100 and swam to first in 49.89.
Standout freshman Catherine Meisner earned her first Penn State record by winning the 200 Free in 1:46.92, a pool record and also an NCAA B-Cut. She later swam to victory in the 500 Free (4:50.82).
It was a meet of pairs for senior captain Emma Harvey. She swam both the 100 Back and 100 Fly and won both events with times of 53.78 and 53.40, both NCAA B-Cuts.
Notably, junior Abby Henderson also won two events, finishing first in the 200 Back (1:59.21) and 200 IM (2:02.75).
Relays:
Nittany Lion relays set pool records. Sophomore Molly Carson, graduate student Olivia Jack, Harvey and Brinker touched first in the 200 Medley with a time of 1:38.01 at the beginning of the meet, while Brinker, senior Ellie Tiskus, junior Cat Stanford and Jack swam to victory in the 200 Free at its conclusion, finishing with a time of 1:30.74.
Top Dives:
Graduate student Daphne Wils broke four more records – earning school and pool record in both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter dives with scores of 330.90 and 356.55.
Senior captain Wei Wei and freshman Charlize Beniquez also impressed on the boards. Both divers earned personal records and zone cuts. Wei took second in the 3-Meter with a PR-setting and zone-qualifying score of 321.60, after competing for third and an additional zone cut in the 1-Meter (279.83).Beniquez's 272.10 1-Meter score earned her a zone cut and a new PR while her 302.85 3-Meter score also took her to a new zone cut and a new PR in addition to third place.
Event Winners:
1650 Free – Courtney Marlin (16:59.07)
200 Free – Meisner (1:46.92) *#
100 Back – Harvey (53.78) #
100 Breast – Jack (1:02.16)
200 Fly – Morgan Rinn (1:59.51)
50 Free –Brinker (22.69) #
100 Free –Brinker (49.89)
200 Back – Henderson (1:59.21)
500 Free – Meisner (4:50.82)
100 Fly – Harvey (53.40) #
200 IM - Henderson (2:02.75)
1-Meter Dive – Wils (330.90)*%
3-Meter Dive – Wils (356.55) *%
* denotes a new pool record, % denotes a new school record, # denotes an NCAA B-Cut
Up Next:
Both Nittany Lion squads remain at home, returning to McCoy next week Saturday, January 21 to compete against Virginia Tech and celebrate the team's senior athletes.
Keep up with Penn State swimming and diving by following the team on Instagram (@PennStateSwimDive), Twitter (@PennStateSWIM) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
