The women's swimming and diving team took a huge step forward Saturday.

But, the major accomplishment is that it did it without ever falling behind.

The No. 15 Lady Lions won nine events to defeat No. 16 Maryland 178-121 at the Campus Recreation Center Natatorium, improving to 5-0 and handing the Terps (8-1) their first loss of the season. More important than the victory, however, is the fact that Penn State earned it without sacrificing its long-term goals. The team has been busy focusing its energy on the Big Ten Championships in February, and its training patterns are set up accordingly.

"One mistake we could make would be to compromise the end of our season for some short-term satisfaction," head coach Bill Dorenkott said. "Our primary focus is the championships. This serves as a lead-in and gives us a good idea of where we're at."

Therefore, the Lady Lions just hoped they were prepared enough to hand the Terps some good competition. They continued to gear this week's practices towards their ultimate goal and were pleased to pick up a win along the way.

"I think it's an indication of our program's growth," Dorenkott said. "The fact that we can win a meet like this and not deviate from our training plan, it shows this is an impressive group."

Two team members who continue to lead the Lady Lions meet after meet are Katie Anderson and Kristen Woodring. Anderson took the 200 freestyle (1:50.53) and the 500 free (4:55.99), while Woodring won the 100 breaststroke (1:01.4) and the 200 breast (1:15.64).

"They're both leaders in their own way, in the pool and on the deck," Dorenkott said. "For sure we wouldn't be as good of a team without them, but in a meet like this past weekend, we wouldn't have been in the position to be successful if it hadn't been a total team effort."

Also contributing to the team effort by picking up victories were Sally Anderson in the 1000 free (10:04.21), Christina Stocki in the 200 backstroke (2:03.97), Corrie Clark in the 200 individual medley (2:06.72), and Jaime Jaax in the one-meter diving competition. Katie Bruzda, Megan Smith, Katie Hostetler, and Woodring also combined to grab a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:43.83).

"This team's disciplined and focused, and I'm excited about where they are and where they're going," Dorenkott said. "I think we have a lot to look forward to."

Actually, the distant date the Lady Lions have been looking forward to all season is getting closer. Saturday's meet gave Dorenkott the opportunity to gauge his swimmers' progress and, while he's pleased with their improvement, he was able to pinpoint one thing the team desperately needs.

"We're three weeks away from our championship meet, and the kids are still a little tired," he said. "They're having trouble recovering from race to race, so we need to rest up."