The Penn State swimming & diving team’s announced the spring semester portion of the Nittany Lions’ 2017-18 schedule last Friday.
Penn State has also changed its season-opening opponent, as it will now host Virginia in McCoy Natatorium. The opener starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14. Fans are encouraged to white-out the Nat, while additional giveaways will be available.
The second half of the regular season slate will be highlighted by the second full home meet of the year against Villanova on Friday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. It will be Senior Day and thethird annual Great Penn State Duck Toss.
The spring semester schedule begins at North Carolina, where Penn State will take on the Tar Heels and Navy. The divers will host a two-day invitational, Jan. 27-28, before the whole team hosts Villanova the following week. The regular season concludes Feb. 10-11 at Ohio State’s First Chance Meet, and then the women’s Big Ten Championships take place Feb.14-17 at Ohio State, while the men’s Big Ten’s will be at Minnesota Feb. 21-24.
The NCAA Zone Diving Championships take place Mar. 5-7 at Rutgers, while the NCAA Championships will take place at the same locations as the Big Ten Championship sites, with the women returning to Ohio State, Mar. 14-17, and the men returning to Minnesota, Mar. 21-24.
ACC and Big Ten competition fills the first half of Penn State swimming & diving’s 2017-18 schedule, which was released in July.
The Blue-White Intrasquad meet Saturday served as a final tune-up and opportunity for the swimmers to earn places on the travel roster, and following the home opener against Virginia (Oct. 14), Penn State will hit the road to compete in Raleigh, North Carolina, against NC State and Duke (Oct. 20).
After a weekend off, the Nittany Lions will get a preview of the Big Ten competition they will face in February, as they will travel to Minneapolis to race against Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin (Nov. 3-4). The fall semester slate concludes the weekend before Thanksgiving at Ohio State, as the Lions will challenge several of the nation’s top teams at the Ohio State Invite (Nov. 17-19). It will mark the Lions’ second consecutive appearance in the Ohio State meet.
Penn State returns an honorable mention All-American each on its men’s and women’s teams, respectively. For the men, junior diver Hector Garcia Boissier (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) cracked the top-16 in both the 1- and 3-meter dives at NCAA’s in 2017 and he just missed earning a Big Ten medal, placing fourth in the 3-meter with a school record performance, as he ultimately claimed both school diving records. Garcia also nearly reached the finals of the 3-meter synchronized dive at the FINA World Championships, placing one spot outside the advancing Top 12.
On the women’s side, Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) set school records in the mile and 400 IM, reaching the consolation finals in both at the NCAA Championships with her record mile swim earning her a 10th-place finish. She also won silver in the 400 IM at the Big Ten Championships. Her momentum carried into the summer as she earned three top-11 finishes at the Phillips 66 U.S. Nationals, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 400 IM that earned her a place on the U.S. team for the World University Games in August and for the upcoming competition year.
Press release courtesy of Penn State Swimming and Diving