Courtesy: Penn State Athletics
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— Penn State swimming & diving will honor its’ six seniors Friday afternoon as they conclude the regular season against Villanova. The contest is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in McCoy Natatorium and fans are encouraged to wear white.
The meet will also feature the fifth-annual Great Penn State Duck Toss where fans can throw rubber ducks into the pool towards floating hula hoops during the second intermission. Ducks landing in a hula hoop will be eligible to win the grand prize of a new TV, as well as other various prizes. See the promotions table for full information.
The Seniors
The two men’s team captains, Austin Wilson and Liam Veregin are among those being honored on Senior Day. Wilson was a member of the fourth-fastest 200 freestyle relay effort in the school’s history, while Veregin enters his final home meet ranking twice on the Penn State all-time performers list, sitting third in the 200 backstroke (1:41.92) and sixth in the 100 back (46.81). He has also scored points for the Nittany Lions in both events at the Big Ten Championships. Matthew DiNunzio rounds out the group, currently ranking as the fourth-fastest in school history in the 200 butterfly (1:46.12), as well as a member of the fourth-fastest 200 free relay team (1:18.26) and fifth-fastest 800 free relay team (6:27.26).
The women’s team will be honoring three seniors as well: Christina Crowell, Heather MacDougall and NCAA qualifier Maddie Hart. Crowell recently broke the Nittany Lion women’s platform diving record with a score of 232.25 at the Buffalo Invitational and is a three-time NCAA Zones qualifier, while fellow senior MacDougall has competed at the Big Ten Championships and excelled in the classroom as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and two-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient. Hart currently ranks as one of Penn State’s all-time top-10 performers in four different races, and in 2019 she competed in the NCAA Championships in the 100 fly, 200 fly and 100 back and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials in the 100 fly. Hart has also received CSCAA Scholar All-America and Big Ten All-Academic recognition.
The Nittany Lions
The men’s swim team is coming off a successful run at Bloomsburg where they secured multiple 1-2-3 sweeps. Junior Hayden Harlow led the men’s team with two career-best times and wins in the 1000 free (9:30.40) and the 100 fly (49.64). Along with Harlow, junior Eben Krigger finished with multiple top-two finishes, securing first in the 200 free (1:41.20) and second in 100 free (47.00). The men’s diving team last competed at the Navy Diving Invitational where junior Bryce Hoch impressed with a third-place finish in both the 3-meter (290.10) and on the platform (242.30). Right behind him was freshman Kevin Sullivan, who placed third in the 1-meter with a score of 293.05.
The men’s team currently has a record of 3-2 and has 12 swims ranking in the NCAA Top 100 in their designated races. Junior William Roberson is placed the highest amongst the Nittany Lions, sitting at the No. 11 spot in the 50 free for his NCAA B-cut time of 19.42. This time ranks him second in the Big Ten where he is also ranked No. 10 in the 100 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 43.72. Sophomore Michael Daly also has four top-10 swims in the Big Ten, ranking seventh with NCAA B-cut times in the 200 back (1:43.57) and the 400 IM (3:48.76). He also sits at ninth in both the 1000 free (9:13.05) and the 500 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 4:20.10.
Women’s swimming last competed when they defeated Buffalo in McCoy Natatorium in early January, with Marie Schobel sweeping the backstroke events. Women’s diving has had a successful month of competition, competing in three away meets with multiple divers achieving personal bests. Most notably, Christina Crowell earned personal bests in all three of her events this month: the 1-meter, 3-meter, and platform. Sierra Shurts also earned a personal best and NCAA Zones qualifying score of 286.25 in the 3-meter during the Navy Diving Invitational.
As a whole, the women’s team is 5-1 this season with 18 swims ranks in the NCAA Top 100 for the year. Maddie Hart leads the team ranking 25th nationally in the 100 fly (52.33), 27th in the 100 back (52.71) and 38th in the 200 back (1:54.90) with times that rank her in the top five in all three events. Additionally, Cooke ranks in the top-10 of the Big Ten with B-cut times in the 50 free (7th, 22.52) and 100 breast (10th, 1:01.02), freshman Abbie Amdor ranks sixth in the 100 free with a B-cut of 49.16 seconds and Madison Murtagh ranks eighth in the Big Ten and 36th nationally in the mile (16:23.96).
The Wildcats
The Villanova men are currently 2-4, and the women are 6-1 but will be competing against West Virginia Thursday.
Next Up
Penn State women’s swimming & diving will head to Iowa City for the Big Ten Championships from Wednesday, Feb. 19 to Saturday, Feb. 22, while the men will head to Bloomington, Indiana, to compete in the Big Ten Championships from Wednesday, Feb. 26 to Saturday, Feb. 29.