UNIVERSITY PARK, P.A. – Penn State men's swimming and diving recorded a number of NCAA B-Cuts and a school record in the men's 1000 yard free in a 172-121 loss to Virginia Tech Saturday at McCoy Natatorium.
On Senior Day presented by Penn State Alumni Association, the program honored 10 senior student-athletes in a pre-meet ceremony.
"Virginia Tech's men are in the top-15 in the country, the women are in the top-25. We knew this was going to be a challenging meet for us. There was a lot of good racing," says Penn State head coach Tim Murphy said. "Probably most importantly, we went after first, we didn't back down. We were aggressive. We had some really good swims. We had a lot of really tough swim. So I think we got better, I think we got tougher."
Top Swims:
The Nittany Lions men's squad kicked off the events with a second place finish at 3:10.98 in the 400 Medley Relay.
Freshman Eduardo Cisternas struck gold in the 1000 Free with an 8:56.63 finish, just over 16 seconds ahead of his competitor. Cisternas' finish on Saturday makes for a new school record for the Nittany Lions in the men's 1000 Free, a record in which he previously held at 9:17.90. Cisternas also walked away with an NCAA B-Cut for his second place finish in the men's 500 Free at 4:18.50.
The newest addition to the men's squad, freshman Cooper Morley took home the gold in the 100 Back with a 47.41 finish and an NCAA B-Cut to start off his Nittany Lion career.
Placing second in the 100 Fly at 46.40 and second in the 50 Free at 19.79, sophomore Victor Baganha recorded two different NCAA B-Cuts and podium finishes.
Hurley, Harvey, and Lazzerini all took home second place podium finishes in there respective events. Freshman Mariano Lazzerini finished the 200 Breast at 1:57.97, and sophomores Jack Harvey and Tommy Hurley placed second in the 200 Back at 1:46.48 and in the 100 Free at 44.98.
The men's squad shined in the 400 IM with a podium sweep by senior+ Will Lulek (3:52.34) ahead in first, freshman Andrew Christensen (3:59.53) and junior Calvin Wise (4:08.09).
Relays:
The men kickstarted Saturday's meet with the team of Byrne, Lazzerini, Baganha and Hurley finishing the 400 Medley Relay at 3:10.98, taking a second place finish on the podium.
Another podium sweep for the men's squad in the 200 Free Relay with the team of Baganha, Byrne, Lazzerini, and Hurley having touched first at 1:19.49. McNutt, Schneider, Harvey and Doyle followed close behind at 1:22.36 for a second place finish.
Top Dives:
Freshman Hayden Elliott took a second place podium finish for the 1-meter dive, scoring 356.40 and a third place finish on the 3-meter dive with 330.53 to close.
Event Winners:
1000 Free – Eduardo Cisternas (8:56.63)
100 Back – Cooper Morley (47.41)
100 Breast – Mariano Lazzerini (54.10)
400 IM – Will Lulek (3:52.34)
200 Free Relay – V. Baganha, L. Byrne, M. Lazzerini, T. Hurley (1:19.49)
Up Next:
The Nittany Lions will host their final home meet of the season at McCoy Natatorium versus the Villanova Wildcats Friday, January 27 at 4 p.m.
Keep up with Penn State swimming and diving by following the team on Instagram (@PennStateSwimDive), Twitter (@PennStateSWIM) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).
-NITTANY LIONS-