ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy swimming and diving teams will open their respective 2023-24 seasons Saturday when the Mids face Penn State at 11 a.m. in McCoy Natatorium on the Penn State campus in University Park, Pa.
The meet will be streamed to subscribers of Big Ten Plus.
Navy Men
Navy put together a 9-3 record during the 2022-23 season and capped the year by winning the Patriot League Championship for the 19 time in the 19 years the team has competed at the meet. The Mids return 30 letter winners from last season.
Navy additionally returns 10 of its 12 team members who garnered All-Patriot League accolades a season ago. This includes five of the six Mids who received a first-team nod. The list of returning first-team recipients consists of
Everet Andrew,
Patrick Colwell,
Jonah Harm,
Blakeman Shaw and
Zach Stump.
Navy Women
The Mids posted a 9-3 record during last year's regular season and won the program's 11th straight and 21st overall Patriot League title. Navy brings back 32 letter winners from the team.
Also back are each of the 12 Mids who earned All-Patriot League honors in 2023. This includes first-team honorees
Gabi Baldwin,
Sarah Eldridge,
Cameron Horner,
Caroline Irwin,
Tiffany Shields and
Lauren Walsh.
Penn State Men
Penn State opened its 2023-24 season last weekend with a 211-89 win at home over St. Bonaventure.
Penn State compiled a 4-4 record during the 2022-23 regular season. One of those losses was a 150-148 defeat to Navy in Lejeune Hall. The Nittany Lions went on to place eighth at the eight-team Big Ten Conference Championship.
Navy holds a 7-5 advantage in the series with Penn State. The Nittany Lions have won the last four meets in the series that have been contested on the Penn State campus and have a 4-1 edge overall in their home pool.
The only additional current Big Ten Conference team Navy has faced is Michigan. The Wolverines defeated the Mids four years ago.
Penn State Women
The Nittany Lions enter with weekend with a 1-0 record this year following their 212-86 win last week over St. Bonaventure.
Penn State ended last year with a 6-2 record in dual meets, which included a 202.5-97.5 victory over Navy. The Nittany Lions finished in eighth place at the 12-team Big Ten Conference Championship.
Penn State has won all 10 prior duals with Navy. The Mids have posted a 1-12 record against teams currently in the Big Ten Conference.
