Bottom drops out from under swimmen at Big Ten tourney

Think back to the first time you went to an amusement park.

There was the Ferris wheel, where the view was spectacular from the top. Then there's the House of Mirrors, where things aren't always as they seem. Finally, it's the roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs, then it's all over, leaving the riders with a nauseous but silly feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

For the Penn State men's swimming and diving teams, the roller coaster portion of the season took place during the weekend at the Big Ten championships at Indiana's Counsilmen Aquatic Center. Michigan, which won the tournament for an astounding 30th time, knocked defending champion Minnesota from the top spot after just one season.

Although disappointed by the seventh-place finish in the overall standings, the Lion swimmers recorded more than 30 lifetime bests.

"We could have finished higher than we did," coach Peter Brown said. "We had a bad third day, and that kept us from sixth or better."

Highlights for the Lions included a third-place finish for the 200-yard medley relay team, which also set a school record in the event, as well as a third-place finish by Brian Palme' in the 100-yard backstroke.

"We scored in every event but one this year," Brown said, "and that's the first time we've ever done that."

While not on the level of a Michigan or a Minnesota yet, Penn State had much to be proud of in this meet.

"Those two teams have some world-class athletes," Brown said. "They've got some real hot shots, some real studs and everyone else kind of rides on their backs."

The event, according to results, saw its fastest times ever, as many school and conference records were broken.

"The outcomes for almost every place came down to the last day," Brown said. "This conference, top to bottom, is deeper than any other conference in the country."

As for what's to come the rest of the season, the Lions will send a group of swimmers to Yale for the Yale Invitational. This meet is the last chance for Penn State swimmers to qualify for NCAAs.

"We've got Yale this weekend, followed by nationals," Brown said. "The other conference tournaments are this weekend, such as the Pac-10 and the WAC, and then we'll know who's going to NCAAs."

The aforementioned NCAAs take place during the last week of March at Minnesota. While no swimmers or divers met the automatic qualifying times at Big Tens, several Lions are in good position based on times set in previous years.

"We've got four guys looking real good for NCAAs," Brown said. "Gavin Carscallen in the 100-butterfly and Greg Stacey in the 50-free are both pretty good bets for us, but we'll have to see."