It was important for the Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving team to come away from the Shamrock Invitational on a positive note, earning momentum toward the Big Ten Championships.
After Sunday's final, as the women had swept the dual meets and capped an undefeated regular season, and the men defeated three of the four schools in the competition, it was clear that the Nittany Lions had achieved that goal.
Going into the Invitational, the Lions knew that they would be facing some tough competition. Men's and women's teams from Notre Dame, Connecticut, Oakland, and West Virginia were set to take down the Lions, but they would soon realize that a task such as that, would be easier said than done.
The women were red hot during the entire meet, earning wins in 10 of the 20 events held including four second-place finishes. Eight of those wins came on the second day, where many of the women swimmers helped finish the regular season on top.
Sophomore Kaitlin O'Brien achieved her second-fastest time of the year, with a first-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley, her ninth first-place finish of the season. In that event, the Lions were able to hold six of the top nine spots, including the second, third, and fourth place finishers, giving them another strong showing in the Intramural event.
The 200-meter freestyle team of freshman Michelle Myers, sophomore Kelly Nelson, junior Molly Crispell, and senior Genie Cheng started off the meet with a successful race, taking first in a time of 1 minute-34.44 seconds, the best team time for the year.
"We raced well today in both session," Penn State head coach Bill Dorenkott said. "I liked our intensity and enthusiasm throughout the competition from both the men and women."
The men had no shortage of intensity and enthusiasm, as they compiled their strongest meet of swimming all season, including winning five of the seven events held on the second day. Sophomore David Kraft took first in the 1650-meter freestyle with a time of 15:40.33, his best time for the year, while sophomore Pat Schirk finished first in the 200-meter backstroke.
The men found the 500-meter freestyle race to be their top event, with the Lions securing the fifth through ninth spots, as well as eight of the top-15 finishers. Freshman Jon Cochrane led the men in the event, taking fifth with a time of 4:35.09, as fellow teammates Ryan Deweese, Ben Ryan, Chris Sullivan and Spencer Maglich came in Nos. 6 through 9, respectively.
This was the final regular season meet for the Lions. The men will compete in the Big Ten Championships in two weeks, February 8-10 in Minneapolis, Minn., and the women will wait three weeks before their Big Ten Championships begin on February 15-17, in Columbus, Ohio.
