Penn State Posts Season-Opening Sweep Over Navy

Navy VS. Penn State

• October 4, 2024
• Annapolis, MD
• 25 yards (SCY)
• Scores
  • Women: Penn State – 158, Navy – 142
  • Men: Penn State – 172, Navy – 128
• Full Results

The Naval Academy and Penn State swimming & diving teams kicked off their season with a head-to-head matchup on Friday.

While Navy’s teams managed to win a combined total of 14 events, the Nittany Lions pulled ahead to hand the Midshipmen a double loss on Friday.

Women’s Meet

The women’s meet proved to be evenly matched throughout most of the competition, as Navy and Penn State both won eight events and almost flip-flopped wins with each event. Penn State emerged victorious, scoring 158 points to top Navy’s 142 in a close battle.

The Mids kicked off the meet in their favor, claiming a victory in the 200 medley relay; the team of Ela Habjan, Sydney Bare, Caroline Irwin and Catherine Weaverling posted a time of 1:43.42 to edge out the Nittany Lions by just under a second.

Habjan went on to win two individual events for Navy. She swept the backstroke races, winning the 100 in a time of 55.07 and the 200 in a time of 2:02.35, and her performance in the 100 back ranks 11th amongst the top college times so far this season.

The Nittany Lions won four out of the five individual freestyle events, ceding only the 50 free to the Mids.

Penn State’s Catherine Meisner proved a force to be reckoned with in the free events as she turned in two individual victories and one relay win. She won the 100 free (51.44) and 200 free (1:48.60) and split a 51.00 on the 400 free relay to help the Nittany Lions to victory with a total time of 3:27.66.

Claiming the distance free events were Julia Barto, who won the 500 in a time of 4:59.02, and Morgan Moore, who won the 1000 in a time of 10:08.60.

Notable Results

• Penn State turned in 1-2-3 finishes in both the 500 and 1000 free. Moore took second in the 500 (5:01.25), followed by Morgan Jenny in third (5:02.01), while the 1000 saw Morgan place second (10:18.36) and Keira Reid finish third (10:30.54).
• The Mids swept the diving events, with Mackenzie Kim winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter competition. She scored 251.33 on the 1-meter and 252.98 on the 3-meter, claiming both events by a narrow margin.
• Irwin won two more individual events for Navy, bringing home a victory in the 50 free (23.69) and the 100 fly (54.87). Her time in the 100 fly ranks 18th among the top college times this season.
• A strong contributor for Penn State, Margaret Markvardt won the 200 IM (2:04.58) and was a part of the winning 400 free relay. She was also the runner-up in the 100 back (56.95) and raced the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay, splitting a 24.59 to help the team claim second place.

Men’s Meet

Penn State posted an even more definitive victory on the men’s side, winning nine out of the 16 events to top Navy 172 to 128.

The Nittany Lions showcased their depth in the butterfly events, sweeping the 100 and 200 with a 1-2 finish in both races. In the 100 fly Caden Davis claimed victory in a 48.78, followed closely by Victor Baganha in a 49.19, while the 200 fly saw Alex Karahalis prevail in a 1:49.64 and Sam Folger take second in a 1:49.91.

Penn State also posted a full podium sweep in the 200 IM; Karahalis touched first in a time of 1:49.12, followed by teammates Sean Honey (1:50.26) and Toni Slavica (1:52.55).

Navy did not quite have the depth to match Penn State in many of the events, but the Mids still managed to win seven events, including the 200 medley relay and the 1-meter diving event.

The team of Ben Irwin, Juan Mora, Lachlan Andrew and Natanas Gaver kicked off the meet with an intense battle in the medley relay, throwing down a time of 1:28.71 and just managing to outtouch Penn State’s relay team by .01.

Following up the relay with a second early win, freshman Dean Jones kicked off his college career with a victory in the 1000 free; he posted a time of 9:14.76 to win by 12 seconds. Jones’ performance marked the 6th-fastest time in the event so far this season.

Notable Results

• Penn State freshman Ryan Anslem made his college debut with a strong showing in the 1000 free, taking second in a time of 9:26.27.
• Irwin, a sophomore for the Mids, won the 200 back by just .07, turning in a time of 1:46.77 to edge out the competition. He was also the runner-up in the 100 back with a time of 48.62.
• The Nittany Lions posted a close 2-3 performance in the 100 breast; Filipe Pinheiro took 2nd in a 54.72 and Mariano Lazzerini placed 3rd in a 54.75.
• Penn State’s Jack Harvey,Honey and Cooper Morely went 2-3-4 in the 200 back, turning in times of 1:47.47, 1:49.24 and 1:49.31, respectively.
• Navy diver Blake Shaw emerged victorious from the 1-meter diving competition, scoring 307.20 to win by over 15 points. He was also the runner-up in the 3-meter diving event, posting a score of 285.60.
• The Nittany Lions’ Hayden Elliot won the 3-meter diving competition by over 20 points, scoring 318.23.
• Penn State sophomore Tylor Kim won both the 50 and 100 free. He posted a personal best time of 43.90 in the individual 100 free before going on to lower that time to a 43.66 as the leadoff in the 400 free relay; he swam a time of 20.35 in the 50 free.

Up Next

Navy’s swimming and diving teams will play host to UMBC and William & Mary in a tri-meet on October 12, while Penn State is off for the next three weeks before taking on Pitt in a home meet October 25-26.