UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (June 9, 2004) - The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams continued their summer training sessions with several outstanding performances May 21-23 at the Boilermaker Aquatics Early Bird Senior Invite in West Lafayette, Ind.

Competing either as unattached individuals or for the Big Cat Aquatics Club, the Penn Staters made their mark at the invite with several wins and high place-finishers.

Freshman Margy Keefe (Cincinnati, Ohio) won the 400 long course freestyle with a pool and meet record time of 4:20.63. She also won the 800 freestyle with another pool and meet record of 8:59.83 and took second place in the 200 freestyle in 2:08.55.

Junior Deirdre Dlugonski (Washington, Pa.) won the 100 freestyle in 59.67, took fourth in the 50 freestyle (27.74) and fifth in the 200 freestyle (2:10.07).

Sophomore Sarah Haupt (Carlisle, Pa) won the 100 backstroke in 1:05.61 and finished third in the 200 backstroke in 2:25.80.

On the guys side of the competition, former Nittany Lion swimmers Eugene Botes and Matt Haupt took second and third place, respectively, in the 100-meter butterfly in 56.29 and 57.08. Haupt was also second in the 200 IM (2:09.55) and second in the 400 IM (4:37.39). Botes, who will swim for Team South Africa in the upcoming summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, also finished third in the 50 freestyle (24.04) and fifth in the 100 freestyle (53.01).

Junior Courtney Stanchock (Bloomsburg, Pa.) finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.27) and fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:41.81). Senior Kristen Woodring (Sinking Spring, Pa.) took fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.59) and sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:44.27).

Freshman Erin Morris (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and junior Jen Eberst (Clifton Park, N.Y.) took fifth and sixth in the 100 backstroke with times of 1:08.77 and 1:09.48, respectively. Morris also took sixth in the 400 IM in 5:12.39 and second in the 200 backstroke in 2:25.70, while freshman Claire Hawley (Barnstable, Mass.) finished eighth in the 400 IM in 5:14.71.

Sophomore Amberle Biedermann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was seventh in the 100 freestyle in 1:00.56.

Haupt, Stanchock, Biedermann and Dlugonski also teamed up to win the 400 medley relay with a pool record time of 4:23.31.

Freshman Meredith Holman (Inman, S.C.) took sixth in the 200 butterfly in 2:24.29 and took third in the 800 freestyle. Freshman Megan Palera (Santa Maria, Calif.) finished second in the 800 freestyle, while Morris (5th), Hawley (6th) and freshman Patty Murphy (Medford, N.J.) took eighth in the same event.

Sophomore Chris Ippoliti (Berwyn, Pa.) finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.30) and junior Mark Zucca (Hudson, Ohio) was sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:31.23).

Botes, Haupt, Ippoliti and junior Daryl Northrop (Verona, N.J.) also teamed up to take second place in the 400 medley relay in 3:58.66.