Virginia Men Take 2-Point Victory Over Penn State

VIRGINIA VS. PENN STATE

• Results
• Hosted by Penn State
• Saturday, October 14th
• 25 Yards
• Dual Meet Format

FINAL TEAM SCORES

• WOMEN: Virginia 184, Penn State 104
• MEN: Virginia 151, Penn State 149

The Virginia men and women traveled to Pennsylvania over the weekend for a dual meet with Penn State. The Cavaliers won by a large margin on the women’s side, picking up 184 points to Penn State’s 104 points. The men’s side saw a thrilling battle that came down to the final race, with Virginia beating Penn State by 2 points.

Penn State led for most of the meet, with Kaelan Freund establishing himself as their top individual performer. Freund pulled off a winning triple, starting with a dominant victory in the 100 breast (54.20). He completed the sweep of the breaststrokes with a 2:00.34 in the 200 breast, again winning by over 2 seconds. Freund closed out his schedule in the 200 IM, putting up the only sub-1:50 time to win it in 1:49.71.

Brendan Casey was also a multiple individual event winner on the men’s side, picking up a pair of titles for the Cavaliers. Casey jumped out to the early lead over teammate Sam Magnan (9:24.84) in the 1000 free, rolling to a 9:21.77 for the win. He returned to win the 200 back, touching in 1:47.69. Casey and Magnan battled again in the 500 free, but the tables were turned as Magnan touched 1st in 4:30.25 to Casey’s 4:31.20.

Heading into the final race, the 400 free relay, Penn State led by 3 points. The Virginia squad of Joe Clark (45.29 leadoff), Ted Schubert (44.24), Bryce Keblish (45.44), and Ryan Baker (44.94) combined for a 2:59.91 to win the race and seal the deal.

On the women’s side, Caitlin Cooper and Emma Seiberlich led the charge for the UVA women. Cooper swept the sprint free races. She battled down the stretch with Penn State’s Katrina Kuhn (23.47) in the 50 free, touching in a winning time of 23.11. She returned shortly after for the 100 free, touching in 50.85 ahead of teammates Morgan Hill (51.23) and Eryn Eddy (51.37) for a 1-2-3 finish.

Seiberlich, a freshman, earned her first-ever collegiate dual meet victories. Her first win came in the 200 back, where she was the only woman to break 2:00 with her 1:57.68. She then out-touched teammate Anna Pang in the 100 fly, 55.20 to 55.27. Seiberlich also finished 2nd in the 200 fly (1:59.35) behind teammate Jen Marrkand (1:57.89).

PRESS RELEASE – VIRGINIA:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened the season with wins over Penn State. The women’s team captured 14 first-place finishes as the men’s team secured eight events.

The No. 13 Virginia women’s team defeated Penn State 184-104, while the No. 22 men’s team edged the Nittany Lions with a win in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, for a score of 151-149.

Penn State led the men’s dual competition by three points (143-140), heading into the final relay. Sophomore Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), sophomore Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.), junior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), respectively, swam a time of 2:59.91 to capture first in the event and top the Nittany Lions in the team standings.

“It was a great meet for both our men and women today against tough Penn State teams to kick-off our 2017-18 season,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “We did some things a little unorthodox during our pre-meet warmup to put a little extra stress on the team both mentally and physically. The team responded well and fought hard ‘All Day.’ It was fun to watch our team be engaged in their teammates, like family, from their first relay to the last. We constantly talk about the team being greater than the individual and it showed today.

“We had some first-years get their first taste of individual college wins as Marcie (Maguire), Emma (Seiberlich) and Paige (Madden) rolled through their events, the 100 back, 200 back and 500 free, respectively. Kylie Towbin dominated both boards and our fourth-year leadership was phenomenal as it is every day.”

The Cavalier women opened the meet with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay as freshman Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.), junior Vivian Tafuto (Hummelstown, Pa.), freshman Anna Pang (Singapore) and senior Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.), respectively, recorded a time of 1:41.59.

Cooper and freshman Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) paced the Cavalier women, as each won two individual events in the meet. Cooper topped the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, recording a time of 23.11 and 50.85, respectively. Seiberlich finished first in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.68) and the 100-yard butterfly (55.20).

Aiding to the women’s 12 individual first-place finishes, senior Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) won the 200-yard butterfly (1:57.89), while sophomores Hill, Madeleine Vonderhaar (Lakeside Park, Ky.) and Mary Claire Tansill (Bristow, Va.) captured the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.40), 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.18) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:17.30), respectively. Freshmen Marcella Maguire (Ridgefield, Conn.) finished first the 100-yard backstroke (55.24), while Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) won the 500-yard freestyle (4:55.43).

In the diving competition, junior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) swept the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, recording a score of 286.95 and 329.03, respectively.

The women’s team concluded with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Marrkand, junior Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.), Hill and Seiberlich, respectively, finishing with a time of 3:22.95.

“For the men, they decided to help our new staff get our first win in dramatic fashion going down to the last relay,” DeSorbo said. “Penn State made it a great challenge through the front half of the meet and our men responded well with a big come back, winning six of the last eight events to set up a battle for winner take all with the last relay. Brendan Casey was big for us today with two individual wins and Bryce Shelton gave us a boost on the boards.”

Redshirt junior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) recorded a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:21.77 and in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:47.69. Schubert captured first in the 200-yard butterfly (1:49.34), while Baker placed first in the 100-freestyle (45.27). Junior Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) won the 500-yard freestyle (4:30.25) and Keblish won the 100-yard butterfly (48.91), to round out the individual swimming events.

Sophomore diver Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) recorded a score of 335.85 for first place in the 3-meter dive.

“Our distance squad carried the day and will continue to drive our program’s success as we move towards developing all sides of the program,” DeSorbo said. “I have to give a big pat on the back to our staff, it’s the best in the country. They are working hard for the program. We continue to take things day by day. Our team is learning our staff and our expectations. We have a lot look forward to. Our men and women are in a great spot and it is going to be exciting to compete three out of the next four weekends.”

The Cavaliers will compete against LSU and Pittsburgh in a two day meet beginning on Friday, Oct. 20.

PRESS RELEASE – PENN STATE:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 22 Virginia men won the final relay to earn a two-point win over Penn State, while Virginia’s No. 13-ranked women’s team also defeated the Nittany Lion women, in the swimming and diving season opener for both teams Saturday in McCoy Natatorium.

On the men’s side, Virginia won 151-149, and on the women’s side it took a 184-104 victory.

The Penn State men led for most of the meet until Virginia pulled ahead by six points following wins in the 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 3-meter dive. Penn State sophomore Kaelan Freund put the Nittany Lions back in front by three points with a win in the 200 individual medley, touching first in 1:49.71, and also earned points from Nathaniel Bledsoe in third (1:53.47) and freshmanHayden Harlow in fourth (1:54.07). However, the Cavaliers were dominant in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet, winning in 2:59.91, while the Nittany Lions took second (3:03.60) and third (3:04.10).

“It stings a little bit to come so close, but we had a lot of good racing,” said head coach Tim Murphy. “I asked the team to challenge themselves, and more importantly, challenge Virginia, and I think they did that in a lot of different ways.

“We had freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors doing good things on the women’s side and on the men’s side, people on the boards doing good things, so we have a lot to be proud of. We’re way ahead of where we’ve been in the past, in a lot of different ways, this time of the year.”

Freund led Penn State with a trio of individual wins, as he also took gold in the 100 breaststroke (54.20) and 200 breast (2:00.34) in addition to his victory in the 200 IM. Freund also joined Liam Veregin, Sterg Dikos, and Gabe Castano in the meet-opening 200 medley relay, as the foursome placed first in 1:28.91.

Individually, Veregin also had a strong meet, placing first in the 100 backstroke (48.48) and second in the 200 back (1:48.01).

Freshmen Castano and Nathan Schiffman were impressive in their collegiate debuts, both winning their first races. In addition to his relay win, Castano won the 50 free in 21.05 seconds and placed third to lead the Lions in the 100 free (45.71). Schiffman led one of the Nittany Lions’ strongest performances of the meet, as he touched first in the 200 free (1:39.63), and was followed by fellow freshman Eben Krigger in third (1:40.03) and senior Ryan O’Neill in fourth (1:40.18). Schiffman also led the Lions in the 500 free, placing third in 4:31.49, less than three-tenths of a second shy of second.

Junior Hector Garcia Boissier led the Nittany Lions on the boards, winning the 1-meter (356.70) and placing second by less than three points in the 3-meter (333.52).

The Penn State women also benefitted from strong freshman efforts. Stephanie Szekely won the first individual race of the day, touching first in the 1000 free in 10:09.11. Jane Donahue earned three top-four finishes in individual races, winning the 200 IM (2:03.83), placing third in the 100 breast (1:03.34) and fourth in the 200 breast (2:18.18). Carly Hart earned two top-three finishes, placing just ahead of Donahue in the breaststrokes, taking second in the 100 (1:03.32) and third in the 200 (2:18.11). Additonally, Camryn Barry was six-hundredths of a second shy of equaling the first-place effort in the 500 freestyle, earning silver in 4:55.49.

The Lions’ upperclassmen also earned podium placings, as Tommie Dillione and Katrina Kuhn both posted runner-up finishes. Dillione placed second in the 200 free, less than a quarter-second shy of first in 1:49.62, and also placed fourth in the 100 free (51.56) and 500 free (5:01.44), while Kuhn was second in the 50 free (23.47).

Additionally, Heather MacDougall followed Donahue in the 200 IM (2:04.60) in second, while Christina Crowellled the Lions in the 1-meter dive (4th, 229.80) and Elaina Faerber led in the 3-meter (3rd, 254.85).
Penn State will next head south to Raleigh, taking on NC State and Duke Friday at 5 p.m.

Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.