UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State men’s swimming squad will send seven Nittany Lions to Federal Way, Wash. for the 2012 NCAA Championships (Mar. 22-24). Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) headlines the team as he will compete in four events.
Savoy will lead off both the 200 and 400 medley relay teams at NCAAs. The two relay teams are seeded sixth (200) and eighth (400). The 200 medley relay squad (1:25.61) is only 1.3 seconds off top-seeded Arizona (1:24.34). Savoy will take part in the most events of all Nittany Lion swimmers, adding the 100 and 200 backstroke events to his ledger.
Featured on the 200 medley team is Sean Grier (Hummelstown, Pa.), Mitch Scherer (Pottstown, Pa.) and Brian Alden (Lansdale, Pa.). Those three return to the NCAAs in search of their second-straight All-America swim. Grier and Scherer are also on the 400 medley relay team, while Shane Austin (Kennett Square, Pa.) anchors the 400 squad. Scherer was a top qualifier in the 100 breaststroke (53.21), seeded 17th prior to the invitee list.
Joining the previous five swimmers are Scott Marino (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.). Marino will compete in the 200 IM in his second NCAA event, while Salig qualified after a school-record swim in the 200 butterfly (1:44.97) this past Sunday.
The Nittany Lion divers compete at the NCAA Zone A qualifying this weekend in Buffalo, N.Y.