Losing to a team once can be disappointing enough. Losing to that team three years out of four would be three times more disappointing.

Those were the circumstances the Lady Lion swimming and diving team faced Saturday before its meet against Virginia. But thanks to key performances by the Penn State divers, the team's seniors were able to avoid losing to Virginia (8-1), defeating the Cavaliers 176-124.

"We were extremely excited," Swimming Coach Bob Krimmel said. "Over the years, (Virginia) has been one of our most competitive rivals. It was especially gratifying for the seniors, who lost to Virginia their freshman and sophomore years --it was nice that they were able to go 2-2 against UVA."

The seniors seconded their coach's opinion.

"Virginia is always one of the toughest teams that we face," backstroker Jenn Davis said. "They're always very competitive and it's always a really close meet. Anytime we can beat them it's a good feeling. It's especially good in our senior year to beat a team like that."

The Lady Lions' large margin of victory would normally indicate that the Penn State swimmers performed well enough to beat the Cavaliers. But those numbers did not reflect the great performances by the Penn State divers.

Penn State (6-1) outscored Virginia 20-18 on the diving boards. In the 1-meter event, Lady Lion Erika Georgs took first place. Teammates Melissa Breen and Carrie Scherer placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

Scherer and Breen finished second and third in the 3-meter, respectively, and Georgs claimed fifth place, earning eight valuable points in the overall scoring.

"I was pleased with my 1-meter," said Georgs, a sophomore from Skillman, N.J. "I think I still have some more work to do on my 3-meter. I was pleased with Carrie and Melissa's diving in the 3-meter --they stepped up and did what they had to do.

"We just go out there and do what we can for the team -- we look to dive well and improve, and winning is just the icing on the cake."

The Lady Lion swimmers matched their diving teammates with equally impressive performances. Freshman Carmen Kondra, who won two events against Ohio State last week, took first place in the 200-yard freestyle and second in the 50 and 100 free.

Deni Rudy, who finished just behind Kondra in the 50 and 100 free last weekend, turned the tables on her younger teammate on Saturday, narrowly defeating Kondra in the two events. Junior Lisa Pastrana also came up with a big meet, winning the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.