Swimmen finish weekend 2-1

They came. They saw. They were almost perfect.

Penn State men's swimming and diving team (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated Iowa 242-111 and Northwestern 239-114 and lost to Ohio State 197-141 at a Big Ten quadrangular meet Friday and Saturday.

The Lions started off well as they won the first event, the 200-yard medley relay in a pool record time of one minute, 31.48 seconds. The four relay swimmers -- Brian McKenna, Greg Stacey, Gavin Carscallen and David Boardman -- had strong performances throughout the two-day competition.

Penn State continued its winning ways when Holden Comeau won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:39.67 and freshman Joe Peresan won the 200 breaststroke in 2:04.83.

The divers competed exceptionally well for the Lions -- they placed five of the top seven finishers. Senior Seth Kane took second place in both the one- and three-meter events. Drew Jackson rounded out the Lions by placing third in the one-meter and fourth in the three-meter.

But all was not well for the Lions. Two freshmen, Peresan and Steve Hodgins, missed a bus and fatigue set in.

Two freshmen swimmers missed the bus to Northwestern's aquatic center and had to take a taxi to the site. The head counter on the bus thought the two swimmers were in the bathroom -- but they were actually in their rooms.

"We were late and they accidentally forgot us," Hodgins said. "So we hopped in a taxi."

Hodgins was scheduled to swim the first event, the mile. He barely arrived on time and then finished fourth after a long taxi ride. The entire event was seen as an accident at the time and is now a big joke to the team.

But the fatigue factor was no joke to the Lions -- it was serious.

"Our training was a little harder than it needed to be on some guys," Penn State coach Peter Brown said.

Penn State's rigorous training may have affected the Lions, but Brown feels it will pay off at the Big Ten Championships next month. The swimmers feel likewise.

"We were all fatigued from training but we have time to rest now," freshman Jason Pollock. "We just have to be ready for next month."

Fatigue was most evident for Penn State against Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who have lost once to Penn State in 18 years, continued their dominance against the Lions.

"We were all tired and lost all the close races against Ohio State," sophomore freestyler Paul Monyok said.

Even though Penn State lost by 50 points, the Lions still have confidence in their abilities.

"There is not a whole lot of difference between us and Ohio State," Brown said.

The team is now focusing on the future, especially Friday's meet against LaSalle. The meet is senior day for the Lions and could be Brown's 100th career victory at Penn State. No other swimming coach in Penn State history has reached the century plateau.

Brown is looking forward to senior day but said he was very pleased to see the team rounding into shape at just the right time. LaSalle will the last meet until Feb. 26 at the Big Ten Championships in Minnesota.

Fortunately for the Lions, they won't have to take a bus this Friday -- they can walk.