For the majority of the members of the women's swimming and diving team, the Big Ten Championships begin on Thursday. But four members of the team had their own championships yesterday in McCoy Natatorium.

Lady Lions Stacee Frost, Carey Matson, Kelley Tapia and Jonine Figueroa swam their final time trials of the season yesterday. For these freshmen, it was their chance to post season-ending times that they can use to chart their progress next season. Because of a Big Ten travel limit, Penn State's depth, and lack of times and experience, these freshmen will not go to Indianapolis this week.

Some of those freshmen were happy to just make the team and were satisfied with their first season. Breaststroker Matson felt like she was at home with teammates Hannah and Sarah Duttera -- all three swimmers are natives of Dover and attended the same high school.

"I was just a walk-on," Matson said. "At first, I was a little intimidated when I found out how fast the team was. But everyone on the team was always real positive."

The aforementioned travel limit kept some of the freshmen at home during the season as well. Backstoker Frost came from Alaska to swim for one of the top programs in the nation, but was not too discouraged when she stayed behind while the rest of the team went on the road.

"Alaska is not the hub of women's swimming," she said. "The girls down here are really fast -- I was just excited to make the team. Staying home and not travelling is fine with me. I'm swimming faster and participating on a bigger team."

The freshmen are thankful for the older swimmers' encouragement during the season. Part of the reason for that is the "big sister" program the team has employed for years. Every season, each of the experienced swimmers acts as a "big sister" to a younger swimmer by providing encouragement and support.

"I think it's really good to have big sisters," Tapia said. "It gives each swimmer a good friend on the team and they can give each other words of encouragement. For the time trials, my big sister made me a sign the length of my dorm door."

Coach Bob Krimmel pointed out that this "sisterhood" has been a part of Penn State's program for years. Leaving swimmers behind on road trips has also been a regular occurance, but has included juniors and sophomores in the past.

"It's unusual that we have all freshmen this year," he said. "It's a normal occurance, part of being a large team. With the travel limit, you take the best team."

Older swimmers, like Carrie Kundrat, can offer valuable advice to the youngsters. She recalled the day last week when the team was discussing its goals for the Big Ten Championships and one freshman swimmer seemed ashamed because she wasn't going to Indianapolis.

"I said, 'I have been where you guys are, and I want you to understand that you are part of this team,' " she said on Sunday afternoon. "These time trials are their championship meet. We're all 110 percent behind them."