UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - Following a 1-1 start to the new year, Penn State returns home to host the Princeton Tigers and Virginia Tech Hokies at McCoy Natatorium on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The Nittany Lions kicked off their 2025 slate in the windy city, where they faced off against conference opponents the Northwestern Wildcats, as well as local competitor the University of Chicago Maroons.
In a valiant effort, both Penn State rosters earned victories over the Maroons, but fell to the Wildcats on their home turf. This marks Penn State’s first meeting and win against the Maroons, and drops to a 2-6 all-time record with the Wildcats.
Penn State enters the weekend with a 2-4 record, looking to return to a .500 average on home turf. In the thick of a major program rebrand, the Nittany Lions have shown immense development under the leadership of head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron in her first year.
With a wide variety of competitors shaving time from their previous best swims and comfortably finding ways to podium finishes, Bonewit-Cron has emphasized her pride and excitement towards seeing this group continue to develop through the remainder of the season.
Penn State matched up with each of these teams on separate occasions in the 2023-24 season, falling to the Hokies in Blacksburg, and meeting with Princeton at their ‘Big Al Invitational’, where the Nittany Lions tallied podium finishes as a team on each of the three days.
Players to Watch
Junior Morgan Moore has dominated the distance freestyle events, tallying two second place finishes in the 500 and 1000 Free. Moore has shaved her own personal best times in each event earlier this season, with nine podium finishes in freestyle events.
Senior Margaret Markvardt has been phenomenal in the short distance events on the year, recording personal bests and podium finishes in multiple events. In Chicago, she tallied two first place finishes in the 100 Fly and 100 Back, with another second place finish in the 200 IM.
Freshman Audrey Cohen has earned her stripes with the Lions, as she left chicago with two podium finishes; a third place final in the 100 and 200 Breast competitions. In her most recent outing prior to the new year, she swam for three career-best times at the Ohio State Invitational in late November.
Sophomore diver Kailey Koval has proven to be a consistent contributor for the Nittany Lions, leaving Chicago with two podium finishes; a second place finish in the 1 Meter with a 261.85, and a third palace finish in the 3 meter with a 286.00.
Event coverage will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 18th. For live updates, tune into @PennStateSwimDive on Instagram and @PennStateSWIM on X!