Basil Kaaki Class: Senior Hometown: Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia High School: Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) Position: Free/Fly Experience: JR

2007-08: Basil continued to excell as a sprinter in the the freestyle and butterfly. For the Nittany Lions, Kaaki earned points in the Big Ten Championships with a 15th place finish in the 100 butterfly and a 7th place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. He has continued to peak when it is the most crucial at the Big Ten Championships as he reset his career best times in all three of his individual events. Kaaki collected his first medalist finish in the 100 butterfly this season at the quad meet with Pitt/Md./Mizzou/Nova. He has been more successful with the relays earning four first place finishes in the 200 free, three in the 400 free, one in the 200 medley and three in the 400 medley relays.
Meet-by-Meet Highlights: Was on the winning 400 IM relay team at the West Virginia Dual Meet...was on the winning 200 medley relay team and 400 freestyle relay team, placed third in the 100 butterfly, finished third in the 100 free at the quad meet...finished sixth in the 50 free, finished second in the 200 medley relay, placed second in the 200 free and 400 medley relay, won the 400 freestyle relay, finished sixth in the 100 butterfly and fourth in the 100 free at the Hoosierland Open Invitational...placed fourth in the 50 free, finished second in the 100 butterfly, won the 200 free relay with an NCAA `B' time at the Princeton Big Al Invitational

2006-07: Basil's main events were the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly and he swam his best times of the year in all three of those events at Big Ten Championships. His best finish at Big Ten's was 17th, just one spot out of the points, in the 100 fly. On the year, he had four first place finishes, four second place finishes and four thirds. He had the fifth-best time on the team in the 50 free and the second-best time in the 100 fly.
Meet-by-Meet Highlights: Placed fifth in the 100 free and was a part of the fourth place 400 free relay team and the third place 400 medley relay team at the season-opening dual meet at West Virginia....Finished eighth in the 100 fly and was on the sixth place 200 free, seventh place 400 free, eight place 200 medley and third place 400 medley relay teams....Came in eighth in the 100 fly and was on the second place 200 free, the fifth place 400 free and the sixth place 200 and 400 medley relay teams at the Purdue Duals....Picked up points for the Nittany Lions in the 50 free (13th place) and as part of the 400 free (2nd place) and 400 medley (7th place) relay teams and also swam in the 100 free, 200 free and 100 fly at the Bell Grand Prix....Won his first career race with a win in the 50 free and also was on the second place 200 medley relay team at the dual meet vs. West Chester....Won the 200 fly in his only swim of the year in that event and also was on the first place 200 medley relay team in the dual meet vs. Rutgers....Swam his fastest time of the year and placed third in the 50 free, finished seventh in the 100 free, sixth in the 100 fly and was on the second place 200 free, the winning 400 free, the third place 800 free, the fifth place 200 medley and the seventh place 400 medley relay team at the Shamrock Invitational....Finished 17th in the 100 fly, 21st in the 50 free and 19th in the 100 free at Big Ten Championships.

High School: Basil attended Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa., where he was the MVP of the Easterns and the Most Outstanding Swimmer in both his junior and senior seasons. He earned four varsity letters and was also a team captain for two years. He also participated in track and field and volleyball. He qualified for the World Swimming Championships and competed in three different countries and lists that experience as his biggest thrill of high school competition.

Personal: Basil was born on January 16, 1988 in Saudi Arabia. He is the son of Zowhair and Zahra Kaaki. He has an older brother, Abed, who is on the swim team at Connecticut, and a younger brother, Tareq. He lists spearfishing and volleyball as hobbies. He intends to major in something in the science field at Penn State and has career aspirations of becoming a dentist.

Why I Chose Penn State: "The people and the swimming teams were great and it's a great place to pursue dental school."