The Penn State men’s swimming and diving team won its third straight season opener with a 160.5-137.5 defeat over Georgia Tech on Friday at McCoy Natatorium. Nate Savoy (Avondale, Pa.) won three individual events and the Nittany Lions’ 200 medley and 400 free relay teams captured first en route to the win.
Savoy, a senior team captain, picked up wins in the 100 back (48.82), 200 back (1:49.70) and 200 IM (1:52.38), and was a member of the Nittany Lions’ meet-winning 200 medley relay team.
Penn State, who now holds a 2-0 all-time record over Georgia Tech, opened the night by winning the 200 medley relay. Penn State was paced by two members of the program’s record setting team, Savoy and Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.). Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) and Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.) contributed to a 1:29.32 time.
Penn State’s 400 free relay team of Bob Bantley (Maple Glen, Pa.), Scott Heil (New Brunswick, N.J.), Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) and Ryan ensured an equally exciting end to the meet. The relay team closed out the meet by capturing the event title by a 0.35-second margin.
In his first collegiate showing, David Gross (Perryville, Md.) won the 1,000 free, touching the wall in 9:21.39. In his other appearance of the night, Gross finished second in the 500 free (4:34.84).
Stasiunas won the first individual event of his collegiate career, posting a 1:40.32 time in the 200 free. Also collecting top finishes were Schuehler in the 100 breast (56.92) and Ryan in the 100 free (44.32).
TJ Schenkel and Travis Wright took second and third in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events. In the 1-meter, Schenkel scored 276.82 points and Wright scored 259.12 points. The 3-meter board saw Schenkel record 287.25 points and Wright post 256.95 points.
The Nittany Lions travel to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Challenge on Oct. 18.
The Penn State women’s swimming and diving team won 11 of 16 events and defeated Georgia Tech, 170-119, in McCoy Natatorium on Friday night. Junior Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec), junior Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) and senior Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) each won multiple events on the evening.
The Nittany Lions have now won their last 11 season openers and improve to 2-0 all-time against the Yellow Jackets. Penn State took the top three spots in six events.
Ackman touched the wall first in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle, recording times of 56.25 and 50.49, respectively. Rodriguez picked up wins in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events, clocking in at 1:04.39 and 2:19.18, respectively. Siverling came out on top in the 1000 free (10:02.07) and the 500 yard free (4:51.50).
Sophomore Megan Wujciak (Livingston, N.J.) set a personal-best in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 1:49.99, besting her previous mark of 1:50.69 last season.
The squad started off the meet with a 200 medley relay victory, as junior Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.), junior Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.), sophomore Mackenzie Hornibrook (West Chester, Pa.) and senior Katelyn Miller (Hershey, Pa.) clocked a 1:45.93 in the event.
Numerous other Nittany Lions earned first-place finishes, including junior Katie Rowe (Glenville, N.Y.) in the 200 butterfly (2:01.18), senior Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) in the 50 free (23.50) and junior Casey Fazio (Washington Township, N.J.) in the 200 backstroke (2:03.51),
On the 1-meter diving board, sophomore Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) placed second with a score of 255.60.
The Nittany Lions are back in action at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg, Va. on Oct. 18.
Senior Andrew Kosic broke a pair of pool records and Brad Homza won both diving events, but the Georgia Tech men's and women's swimming & diving teams dropped their season-openers Friday night at Penn State.
Scoring
• The men closed the meet strong by winning four of the final six events, but were edged by the Nittany Lions, 160.5-137.5. The women suffered a 170-119 setback.
Men's Highlights
• Reigning All-American senior Andrew Kosic won the 50 free in a Penn State pool record time of 20.19. Kosic also broke the pool's record in the 100 free (44.10) in leading off the 400 free relay.
• Senior Nico van Duijn and sophomore Ben Southern swept the top two spots in both fly events with Southern winning the 200 (1:49.66) and van Duijn taking the 100 (49.42).
• Sophomore Brad Homza swept the diving events, scoring 302.32 points to win the 1-meter and 303.00 points on the 3-meter.
• Freshman Alex Kimpel won the 200 breast in his collegiate debut in a time of 2:06.77, while junior Yuval Safra won the 500 free (4:31.48).
Women's Highlights
• Junior diver Shannon Lumbra (275.40) and freshman Ellen Posch (235.41) finished first and third, respectively, in on the 1-meter board.
• Junior Efrat Rotsztejn was strong in the breaststroke, finishing second in both the 100 (1:04.81) and the 200 (2:21.53).
Quotes from head coach Courtney Shealy Hart
• "The men were a little slow out of the gate, but certainly got stronger as the meet progressed. Andrew (Kosic) broke a pair of pool records and I think he helped get some other guys going. Nico and Ben went 1-2 in the 100 and 200 fly and Yuval did a good job."
• "Our women were a little sluggish today and hopefully it's a good learning experience for them as we have to turn around and swim again tomorrow. We just need to keep getting better each time we're in the pool. But I was proud of Shannon winning the 1-meter and Efrat was strong in the breaststroke."
• "Overall, it was good to get back in the pool and competing against a good team like Penn State. We have a quick turnaround and we will be tested again tomorrow at Navy."
Up Next
• The men and women remain on the road to battle Navy tomorrow at 11 a.m.
