UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State Nittany Lions women's swimming and diving team was victorious against the Villanova Wildcats today at McCoy Natatorium by a score of 179-98.
With the win, the Nittany Lions end their regular season 5-3 while also recognizing their seniors pre-meet with a very special senior day ceremony. Ellie Brandbergh, Mary Brinker, Kenzie Clark, Abby Henderson, Casey Loughlin, Margaret Markvardt, Anna Redican, Morgan Rinn, Kylie Rydland and Cat Stanford were all recognized for their commitment to the program over the past four years.
Top Swims
Morgan Jenny was dominant in the 1000 free for the Nittany Lions winning with almost six seconds to spare in an impressive time of 10:29.97.
Sophomore Catherine Meisner followed Jenny by winning the 200 free in a fast time of 1:49.81.
In the 100 back, Henderson and sophomore Carly Sebring finished first and second with fast times of 56.66 and 57.49.
Rinn celebrated her senior day winning the 200 fly in a time of 2:00.95.
The Nittany Lions took two of the top spots in the 50 free as junior Maura Fluehr finished first in a fast time of 24.18. She was followed by Brandbergh in third with a time of 24.27.
Meisner struck gold again in the 100 free finishing first in a time of 51.37. She was followed by fellow Nittany Lion junior Marly Lough who finished second with a time of 51.94.
In the 200 back Markvardt celebrated her senior day with a win in the 200 back finishing with a time of 2:04.34.
Rydland continued her strong evening of swimming, winning the 200 breast with a time of 2:23.69.
Sophomore Morgan Moore continued her great season in the distance swims winning the 500 free in a time of 5:04.35.
In the 100 fly, Fluehr got her second win of the day in the 100 fly finishing in 56.66.
The Nittany Lions got their first sweep of the day in the 400 IM. Meisner finished in the top spot with a time of 4:35.03, followed by Henderson at 4:24.42 and Rinn at 4:26.38.
Relays
The women's team got the day started in style winning the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:46.54. The winning team was Brandbergh, Rydland, Markvardt and Stanford and they were followed by the second place team of Molly Carson, Kalin Wiltrout, Maura Fluehr and Henderson who finished in 3:50.11.
In the 200 free relay, Brandbergh, Markvardt, Sebring and Stanford combined for yet another win in a fast time of 1:33.94
Dives
Freshman Kailey Koval continued her outstanding rookie season winning the one-meter dive with a score of 268.95.
In the three-meter dive, Koval shined again, winning with a score of 323.85 which was a personal record for her. Sophomore Charlize Beniquez took the second spot with a personal record of 307.58 and Clark finished third with a personal record of 269.18.
The Nittany Lions will travel to the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette, Ind. to begin their postseason Feb 20-24.
For updates on Penn State swimming and diving, follow the team on Instagram (@pennstateswimdive), Twitter (@PennStateSwim) and Facebook (Penn State Swimming & Diving).