Columbus, Ohio; Feb. 15, 2006 ¨C Tonight marked the beginning of the 2006 Women¡¯s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships. The Penn State women¡¯s swimming team is in 10th place with 34 points after a tough night of competition. The Lion women were disqualified in the 200 Medley Relay but regained momentum and finished second in the 800 Freestyle Relay. Wisconsin is in the lead after the first night of competition with 72 points, followed by Michigan with 64 points and Purdue with 54 points.

The Lion women began the Big Ten Championships with a heartbreaking disqualification in the 200 Medley Relay. Seniors Amberle Biedermann (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Sarah Haupt (Carlisle, Pa.), and freshmen Abby Hoisington (Leawood, Kan.) and Kelly Nelson (West Chester, Pa.) were disqualified along with Michigan State. The team rebounded and captured a strong second place finish in the 800 Freestyle Relay. Juniors Jessica Barnes (Glenmoore, Pa.), Erin Morris (Fort Wayne, Ind.), sophomore Molly Crispell (Boalsburg, Pa.) and Nelson finished with an NCAA ¡°A¡± qualifying time and beat the previous pool record with a time of 7:11.59.

The 11th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, according to the latest CSCAA poll from February 9, captured a first place finish in the 200 Medley Relay and set a new meet record of 1:38.89. They also captured an NCAA ¡°A¡± qualifying time. Minnesota finished first in the 800 Freestyle Relay, setting the new pool record and capturing an NCAA ¡°A¡± qualifying time of 7:09.15.

Ohio State University is hosting the 2006 Women¡¯s Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships. Competition continues tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. with the 500 Free, 200 IM and 50 Free preliminaries. The 1-meter diving preliminaries begin at 1 p.m. Finals competition begins at 7 p.m. Competition will continue through Saturday, Feb. 18 with the last round of competition beginning at 7 p.m.

For a complete schedule of events and a link to live results or more information on Penn State women¡¯s swimming and diving, please visit Penn State¡¯s official athletic Web site at www.GoPSUsports.com.