Swimmen step toward Big Ten Championships

By ANTHONY MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer

With Big Ten Championships less than a month away, the Penn State men's swimming and diving team hopes to keep its head above water against two tough conference foes this weekend.

The Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) will meet Iowa and No. 21 Ohio State in a tri-meet starting at 7 p.m. today and resuming at noon tomorrow in the McCoy Natatorium.

"This is a stepping stone for the Big Ten Championships," said Penn State swimmer Steve Medei. "The two-day format allows us to swim all our races and see where we are in our training and what we need to adjust."

The Hawkeyes (3-2, 0-1) come into the meet as somewhat of a mystery since they have not competed since their upset win over No. 22 Iowa State on Dec. 12.

"I'm not sure what kind of team Iowa is," swimming coach Peter Brown said. "They always have good individuals on the national level. I just don't know about their depth."

The Buckeyes (7-0, 0-0) on the other hand come in highly touted, as they have won all seven of their meets by more than 43 points. They also have the psychological advantage over Penn State, which they have beaten 11 of the 12 times they have faced them.

"(The Buckeyes) are definitely one of the teams we'll have to beat this season," Brown said. "They are going to be one of our toughest competitors this year."

The Big Ten is strong from top to bottom this year with four teams ranked in the Speedo top 25 and three others, including Penn State, receiving votes. That said, the Lions believe they can compete with any team in the conference.

"As a team, we're all pretty psyched for this meet," Penn State swimmer Steve Hodgins said. "On any given day in the Big Ten, any team can rise up and meet the challenge."

"We'll try to keep it close," Brown said. "Then we'll have a battle on our hands. To do that, we have to be better than we were a couple of weeks ago."

The weekend activities will also include a Senior Day ceremony for Lion swimmers Medei, Dan Okoniewski and Alvaro Velez, all participating in the final home meet of their careers.