The Lady Lions will play in the William and Mary Invitational tournament Sunday in Williamsburg, Va. No. 5 Penn State will face Brown, No. 8 Harvard, No. 3 Virginia, Georgetown, the U.S. Elite Squad and the Scotland National Team in exhibition games.

Penn State (0-0) will then meet No. 9 Old Dominion (0-0) for both teams' season opener at noon on March 9 in Norfolk, Va.

Key stats: Lady Lion sophomore Michele DeJuliis led the team in scoring last year with 42 points. The Lady Monarchs are led by junior Anne Windover, who scored 66 points.

Injuries: No injuries to report.

Preview: Lady Lion Coach Julie Williams said she expects a tough and aggressive game from Old Dominion, which keeps getting better every year. Last year, Penn State came out on top 10-8 at a time when Old Dominion had the nation's top two leading scorers -- Windover and senior Amy Duerr.

Coach Williams says: "I don't think of (the Old Dominion) game as how it's going to be for the rest of the season. Certainly, it's a first step to see what we do have."

-- by Michael Palm

The Lady Lions travel to Thibodaux, La., to participate in the Mardi Gras Tournament today through Sunday with Nicholls State, Troy State, Southern Illinois, Creighton, Memphis, New Orleans and James Madison. They will stay in Louisiana until March 7, when they play James Madison in a dual meet.

Key stats: Sophomore Olga Novikova took first place in the singles competition last week in the Princeton Invitational. Novikova and junior Tricia Lehman also won in doubles.

Injuries: Freshman Kellie Murphy sprained her ankle Wednesday in practice. Her status for the tournament is still unknown.

Preview: Penn State's top seven singles players will play in both the tournament and the dual-meet competition. The No. 1 doubles team of Novikova and Lehman, the No. 2 team of Murphy and junior Shannon Etzweiler and the No. 3 team of sophomore Melissa Feeney and junior Kim Nelson are also expected to play.

Coach Sue Whiteside says: "Our priority is James Madison, who are going to be very tough. We are using the other teams to get us ready for the dual-meet competition."

Nicholls State Coach Mike McCann says: "We expect Penn State to be our toughest competition. I think this tournament is going to be a great time and a good experience for my team."

-- by Kate Blaschak

Members of the Nittany Lion indoor track team will compete this weekend in the Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association of America Championships at Princeton.

Key Stats: Last weekend, the Lions finished 10th at the Big Ten Indoor Championships at Illinois. Junior Dave Kriz finished fourth in the high jump with a jump of 6-feet, 10 -inches. Freshman Steve Pia took fifth place in the long jump (23-10). Seniors Jake Bartholomy and Matt Hutzelman finished sixth in the 3,000 meters (8 minutes, 20.30 seconds) and the mile (4:17.99), respectively.

Injuries: No major injuries to report.

Preview: Members of the team who set qualifying marks in meets throughout the season will compete this weekend. Those who qualified include Hutzelmann in the mile, Pia in the long and triple jumps, freshman Neal McNutt in the 35 pound weight and Kriz and senior Aaron Gawne in the high jump. Jason Smith, Joe Loner, Todd Kletter and Leif Steiner will compete in the 4x400 relay.

Coach Harry Groves says:"The IC4A is a championship meet and it's very prestigious. We've won the event seven times in the past."

-- by Corey Markle

The Lady Lions will compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at 9:15 a.m. tomorrow and 11 a.m. Sunday at the Manley Field House in Syracuse, N.Y. Lady Lion qualifiers will head to the NCAA championships in Indianapolis next Saturday.

Key stats: Erin St. John and Kris Kelly placed third and fifth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter race in last week's Big Ten Championships.

Injuries: No major injuries to report.

Preview: Athletes from more than 50 teams are expected to compete at the ECACs. Last year, the championship title was shared by Georgetown and Seton Hall.

The Lady Lions are coming off a 10th-place finish in last week's Big Ten championships.