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Summer 2008: Daphne swam in the U.S. Olympic Trials for the Nittany Lions and the club team Long Island Aquatic Club. She took 15th in the 200 back and 23rd in the 400 IM. She came in fourth in the 400 IM, third in the 200 IM and 200 back at the Charlotte Ultraswim. 2007-08: At NCAAs, Daphne garnered an 18th-place finish, two spots off from honorable mention All-American status, in the 200 backstroke and a 28th-place mark in the 200 IM. She broke the school record in 200 back, an event she ended in second, at the Big Ten Champion-ships. She was second-team all-Big Ten. Aside from the 200 back, she placed in the 400 IM (third) and 200 IM (seventh). She earned Academic All Big-Ten Honors for her studies in health and human development. For the year, she took four first places. She swam in second eight times and third ten times. Meet-by-Meet Results: Had a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke versus West Virginia....Defeated Michigan State, Purdue and Virginia swimmers in the 200 back....Swam her fastest times in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay at Princeton....Claimed second in the 200 medley relay at Pittsburgh....Garnered second-place finishes in the 200- and 500-freestyle events versus West Chester, the only time she swam them. Summer 2007: Daphne swam at U.S. Nationals and swam in three events: the 100 and 200 backstrokes and the 200 IM. She finished 15th in the finals of the 200 backstroke after placing ninth in the prelims and 33rd in the 100 back. 2006-07: Daphne started her freshman campaign slowly, not swimming in many events at the beginning of the year, but made her finish count as she came on strong at the end of the year to become one of three Nittany Lion freshmen to qualify for NCAA Championships. Her best times of the year in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM came at Big Ten Championships while her best time in the 200 back came at NCAA Championships, where she finished 22nd. At Big Ten's, she picked up points for Penn State with a 10th place finish in the 100 back, a sixth place in the 200 back and a 12th place in the 200 IM. She swam in those three events as well as on the 400-medley relay team at NCAAs. Daphne ended the year with the fastest time of the year on the team in the 200 back, the second fastest in the 100 back and the fourth fastest in the 200 IM. She swam to NCAA `B' times in the 100 and 200 back as well as the 200 IM during the season and had four first place finishes on the year in addition to two second places and six thirds._Meet-by-Meet Highlights: In her first collegiate meet after not competing at the first dual meet, finished third in both backstroke events at the Clemson/Virginia/Virginia Tech/Penn State quad-meet....Placed second in the 100 back and fifth in the 200 IM at the Big Cat Invitational....Picked up points for Penn State in the 100 back (11th place), 200 back (4th place with an NCAA `B' time) and as a member of the 400 medley relay team (7th place) and also swam in the 800 free relay and in the 100 fly at the Bell Grand Prix....Was on the second place 200 medley relay team at the dual meet vs. West Chester....Part of the third place 200 free and 200 medley relay teams at the dual meet vs. Ohio State....Swept both backstroke events, winning both the 100 and 200 back and also was on the third place 400 free relay team in the dual meet vs. Rutgers....Won the 200 back, finished fourth in the 100 back, placed fourth in the 200 IM in an NCAA `B' cut and placed fourth in the 400 IM in her first swim of the year in that event at the Shamrock Invitational. High School: Daphne was a recipient of the John Small Athletic Award and was an Academic All-American. She earned six varsity letters and was a two-time team captain. As a freshman and as a sophomore, she placed fourth in the 200 IM at the state meet. As a junior she was eighth in the 100 backstroke and third in the 200 IM at states and then as a senior finished second in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 back at states. She set numerous school records as a senior and her school, South Side High, also won the Division II championship. Personal: Daphne Skelos was born on May 1, 1988 in Rockville Centre, N.Y. She is the daughter of Peter and Faith Skelos. She has an older sister Alexis, who was a member of the swimming team at William & Mary. Both parents also swam in college, her mother at SUNY-Farmingdale and SUNY-Cortland, and her father at Emory. Daphne will be majoring in biobehavioral health at Penn State and would like to be a pediatrician or a physical therapist. She lists going to the beach as a hobby. Why I Chose Penn State: "Because of the great athletics and academics and because of the amazing coaching staff."
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