No. 9 Towson State (15-5) takes on Kent State (7-11-1) at 5 p.m. today in the first semifinal of the Nittany Lion Invitational at the Ice Pavilion. No. 4 Penn State (12-7) meets No. 11 Rhode Island (10-3-2) in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. The consolation game will be tomorrow at 5 p.m. with the championship game at 8 p.m.

Key stats: Forward Rob Keegan leads the team with 12 goals and 24 assists (36 points) and Mark Konchar is second in points with 33, including 18 goals.

Injuries: Forward Tom Duhamel will miss a least a month with a separated shoulder. Larry O'Byrne is doubtful with a shoulder injury and forward John Farrall is probable with a groin injury.

Preview: Penn State and Rhode Island playing for first place in the ACHL as well as a birth in the invitational championship game.

Coach Joe Battista says: "This game with Rhode Island is going to be a big one for us. First place is on the line and I expected them to be ready to play."

Penn State (4-0) will host Temple at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Rec Hall.

Key stats: Junior Mark Cooper has been a consistent all-around performer for the Lions. He has competed the all-around in all three meets this season, scoring a 54.3 at Syracuse last weekend.

Injuries: After recovering from a foot injury, sophomore Tony Pansy will be able to compete in all six events. Freshman Jean-Marc Michel, who also suffered a foot injury, has been tumbling this week and should be able to compete in the floor exercise.

Preview: In preparation for Temple, the Lions have been working to improve their pommel horse and vault teams, which have been struggling.

Junior Lee Ricketts will be competing at Rec Hall for the first time. He has heard from former Penn State gymnasts Terry Bartlett and Ian Shelley that "there's no better experience" than performing for the Rec Hall crowd.

Jepson says: "I don't know that (Temple) will be the team that they have been in the past couple of years. They do have the capability, I think, of scoring very well."

The Lady Lion Invitational will take place at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex.

Preview: Due to the unusually severe weather, many schools have been unable to practice so the meet has been changed to accomodate the setback. Rather than traveling as teams, individuals have the option of entering on their own and preregistration is not a requirement.

Next weekend, the trackwomen will journey to Boston for the Terrier Classic.

Coach Jordan says: "This meet is rather low key. It has to do with a lot of teams (which) can't come because they haven't been able to practice because of the weather. We're using this meet as a tune-up for Boston."

At 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall, the Lady Lions (0-1) will host Minnesota (3-0), New Hampshire (3-0) and West Virginia (1-1) in Penn State's second home meet of the season.

Key stats: In last Sunday's season opening loss to Georgia, the Lady Lions posted the nation's fourth highest team score of the season. In that meet, the Lady Lions were paced by senior April Polito, who had a team-best all-around score of 38.65.

Injuries: Freshman Sharon Barbato will miss her second straight meet due to tendonitis in her shoulders. Senior co-captain Coby Silver continues to battle an achilles tendon problem, but will probably compete on the uneven bars and vault.

Preview: Although the Lady Lions are the only team in the meet without a win, they are considered favorites as none of the other three teams came within three points of the Lady Lions score at last week's meet.

The Lady Mountaineers of West Virginia may be a little cold tomorrow. Not because they haven't competed in a while, but because they haven't been able to practice in a week due to frozen water pipes and no heat in their home gym.

Coach Steve Shephard says: "It's all going to boil down to who does the best job on the floor (exercise)."

No. 15 Penn State (6-1) hosts No. 12 Michigan (8-0) at 12 p.m. tomorrow at the McCoy Natatorium.

Key stats: Penn State swimmer John Lund is undefeated this season in the 200-yard butterfly. Michigan swimmer Harold Jenson, a member of the U.S. national team, won the NCAA titles in the 100 backstroke in 1992 and 1993. Michigan has not lost a meet since 1992 for an impressive 30-0-1 record.

Injuries: Penn State junior Matt Noll will not compete in the 200 freestyle because of a sprained wrist. He was second last weekend against Villanova.

Preview: The Lions are coming off an impressive 190-170 win at Villanova last weekend. A win against Michigan would propel the Lions to the top of the Big Ten.

Coach Peter Brown says: "We're just going to let the kids come off the blocks with fire in their eyes. We have a chance to move to the forefront in the conference, apnd if the kids want it, they have to go out and make it happen."

No. 23 Penn State (6-3) meets unranked Pitt (4-2) at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in McCoy Natatorium.

Key stat: This is Penn State's final home meet of the season. Deni Rudy had a strong meet last week against Virginia, winning the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and being a part of the winning 400 freestyle relay team.

Injuries: Lady Lion distance swimmer Regan Stacey, who did not swim last week because of the flu, is questionable for the meet.

Preview: Tomorrow is senior day, as Penn State swimmers Jen Baird, Sharon Detering, Shawna Woods and Janet Worobel will be honored. The Lady Lions look to continue their winning ways after defeating Virginia 173-127 last Saturday.

Coach Krimmel says: "For me, having gone to school here, graduate school here, I swam here, I've coached here -- Pitt and Penn State is something special. I'll always believe that. So for me, (this) week is one I really look forward to."