After only five months of diving, stickhandling and shooting -- all submerged in water -- the Penn State underwater hockey club is finding out what it takes to swim through the rough water of national competition.

Penn State's Sea Monkies finished 3-3-1 playing in the C and B divisions of the national championships in Boca Raton, Fla., to participate in this year's national championships.

"The other teams have taken it serious for so long," forward Alex Dence said. "They have plays like football."

The championship, which was held at the Mission Bay Outdoor Aquatic Complex, consisted of 19 teams competing in three divisions. A total of 74 games were played over the three-day tournament. New champions were crowned in the three divisions.

"We played against the same teams in the East Coast Championship and played a lot better (this time)," team captain Shelia Gilmartin said.

Underwater hockey, which was organized at Penn State by Shelia Gilmartin and sponsored by the Nittany Dive Club, is played by various countries around the world and is under consideration for the Olympics.

The sport is played by two teams of six players equipped with sticks, masks, fins and snorkels. The player's objective is to score a goal by moving a three-pound brass puck along the bottom of the pool.

Penn State competed in the C division, which was developed this year for the new and less experienced teams. Also entered in the division were teams from Charleston, S.C., and West Palm Beach, Fla.

In the C division round-robin tournament, Penn State registered a 2-1-1 record with two lopsided wins over Charleston and a loss and a tie to West Palm Beach.

After C division play ended, Penn State entered the higher level B division. In their first game in the nine-member division, the Sea Monkies fell to the highly ranked Club Puck team of San Francisco.

Penn State, forced into the loser's bracket, lost to Connecticut, 5-2. Although the Sea Monkies lost to Connecticut, some of them felt they could have won.

"We could have beaten Connecticut and we were as good as some of the other lower seeded B teams," back Matt Harris said.

In their final game, the Sea Monkies handed Charleston another loss by the score of 11-0 and finished with an overall record of 3-3-1.

Although failing to post any upsets in their second tournament, the Sea Monkies feel they have improved.

At the tournament Penn State fielded the youngest team and was surprised to see how intense the other national teams play.

"The teams argue about calls and penalties and most teams have practices for three hours," Harris added.

The team's goals for next year are to contend at nationals and gain respect from the other teams. Also the team would like to sponsor a tournament.