Women’s swimming to send nine to NCAA Championships

University Park, Pa. ‚— Following an outstanding regular season and a dominant performance in the Big Ten Championships, nine Penn State swimmers have been selected to compete in the upcoming NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Texas from March 17-19 at the Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

Sophomore Amy Modglin will return to the national meet for the second straight year and will be accompanied by eight first-time competitors. Fellow second-year standouts Merritt Krawczyk and Paige Whitmire will be making their debuts along with senior Alexandra Young, juniors Samantha Palser, Katie Pulos, and Erin Thomas, as well as freshmen Mackenzie Powers and Chelsea Weedman. The nine selections are the most by the Nittany Lions since the team sent 10 to the 2008 competition.

Only 15 teams in the country will be represented by at least nine competitors. In the Big Ten, only Indiana and Minnesota will send more swimmers than Penn Sate.

Modglin returns to the National Championships after earning honorable mention All-American accolades following her performance last season. In the 200-backstroke, she placed 16th in the nation and currently stands as one of only six finalists from 2010 who will be back in the field this season. Last month, she finished third in the 200-back during the Big Ten Championships and enters the national meet ranked 13th in the country after matching her own school record with a time of 1:54.02.

Krawczyk and Weedman both qualified for the competition in the 200-individual medley. The two standouts have been dominant in the event this season, battling each other throughout the year. Entering the NCAA Championships, Weedman, who was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, ranks 25th nationally after setting a new school record with a time of 1:58.40 during the Big Ten Championships. Fittingly, Krawczyk has the second-fastest time in program history and ranks 26th in the country after clocking in at 1:58.43.

Powers has been a force in the 100-fly during her first season in Happy Valley. One of only six freshmen in the nation to qualify for the National Championships in that event, she currently sits 21st in the country with a time of 52.72. That pace not only set a new program record but also helped her finish second during the Big Ten meet last month.

Equally as dominant in the fly, Young earned a spot in the national meet in the 200-yard discipline. The lone Lion senior to qualify for the NCAAs, she currently ranks 26th in the nation with a time of 1:57.19. During the Big Ten Championships, she finished second overall after winning the event four times during the regular season, including a victory in the prestigious Georgia Invitational.

In addition to the five Nittany Lions who qualified in individual events, Penn State’s outstanding 200-freestyle relay squad also earned a bid to the national meet. Together, Palser, Pulos, Thomas, and Whitmire punched their ticket to the competition after an incredible effort during the conference meet. The foursome placed second in the Big Ten after completing the course in 1:29.64, which easily eclipsed the previous school record and ranks 13th nationally.

Along with the events in which the Nittany Lions automatically qualified, they have also been invited to compete in a slew of other disciplines. Palser and Whitmire received bids in the 50- and 100-freestyle as well as the 100-backstroke. Pulos also earned an invitation in the 50-free, while Powers can join the group in the 100-back and Thomas can compete in the 100- and 200-freestyle events.

In addition to qualifying in the 200-IM, Krawczyk earned a berth in both breaststrokes and Weedman received invitations in the 200-fly and 400-IM. Modglin also garnered a spot in the 400-IM and 500-free, while Young earned a nod in the 100-fly and Powers did the same in the 200-yard event.

Penn State also had four additional relay teams earn an invitation. The 200- and 400-medley foursomes and the 400- and 800-freestyle squads have all earned the right to compete as well.

The top-eight finishers in each event will earn first-team All-American honors, while the next eight will garner honorable mention accolades.