The Penn State's women's indoor track team gets set to open its season this Saturday at the Multi-Sport Complex with the US Coaches Association Series Meet.

The meet will start at 10 a.m. Penn State will host teams from Cornell, LaSalle, Seton Hall and Villanova.

This season, the team will look to improve upon last year's eighth-place finish in the Big Ten and its seventh-place finish in the outdoor season.

"We're looking for improvement and to move up the Big Ten ladder," coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said.

Alford-Sullivan, who is in her second season at the helm of women's track and field, said the scored meet is a good opener for the team.

Saturday's meet will be the first for the team and members feel that it will be a good chance to see where they are at this point in the season.

"We are trying to test the ground," senior captain Susanne Heyer said.

"The meet gives us a chance to open up and get a feel for things," said fellow captain, sophomore Deshaya Williams.

Heyer and Williams share captain honors with senior Laila Brock, sophomore Jessica Kern, and junior Olutoyin Augustus. The captains want the members to come together as a team during the season and feel that this meet will go toward accomplishing this goal.

"We would like to see the team come together as one gelled unit," said Brock

"I would like to see us gelling as a team and get every thing together," Williams said.

The team feels that it is well balanced and that it has a good mix of veteran leadership and fresh faces to help to continue to build up the program.

The captains feel that the newcomers are important to the success of the team this year and years to come.

"We have a lot of phenomenal freshman," said Kern.

"They brought in a new energy to the program," Brock said.

"Their role is pivotal for the program in the next five years."

Both new and veteran members of the program look for a successful beginning to their 2001 campaign this weekend.