Another weekend. Another stepping stone.

And so it goes for the No. 17 men's swimming and diving team, as it took five out of eight non-scoring events with Michigan Friday, and split a triangular meet Saturday with Michigan and Purdue.

The Nittany Lions defeated Purdue 171-72 and fell to the Wolverines 114-129.

On the first day of competition, the Nittany Lions swept the relay events, capturing the 200-yard medley and freestyle relay as well as the 800-yard freestyle relay. Sophomore Eugene Botes and junior Bob Molettiere both were members of two of the winning relay teams.

Botes also placed first individually, capturing the 100-yard butterfly in 49.01 seconds.

On Saturday, the Nittany Lions faced the No. 9 Wolverines and No. 19 Boilermakers in their first and last triangular meet of the year. It was also the Nittany Lions' first Big Ten meet of the year.

The Nittany Lions were able to garner the top time in five of the day's 11 swimming events, as Michigan captured the remaining six.

Senior captain John Retrum touched the wall first in both the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:37.53 as well as the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:48.23.

"This was a good opportunity for the team to get used to back to back competitions at an away meet, which is what Big Ten and Nationals will be like," Retrum said. "Right now, as a team, we're honing in on the specifics of racing, whether that be starts, turns, relays, or getting into the pace of the race. We're chiseling the rough edges, becoming swimming machines."

Freshman Todd Minnier continued his successful rookie campaign by placing first in the 200-butterfly, an event he has dominated for most of the season. Minnier was also a member of Penn State's winning 400- yard freestyle relay team, alongside Botes, Molettiere and Retrum.

Penn State received a strong outing from its diving team as well. Chris Alderman, who last week received Big Ten Diver of the Week honors for his strong performance against Pittsburgh, as well as teammates Jeff Harrison and Steve Bohner placed two-three-four in both the one and three-meter events. Michigan's Jason Coben placed first in both events.

"The guys did a really, really steady job," diving coach Craig Brown said. "Chris Alderman has done real good, and he's real consistent down the stretch. Steve Bohner and Jeff Harrison are also getting real consistent, and we love to see that. We're really excited about our depth. I think we can really help the swimmers have a good shot at Michigan and Minnesota. Without those two events (one and three-meter diving), you can't win the Big Ten. Honestly, I wish the competition was tomorrow, we're that prepared."

Purdue did not win any of the day's swimming or diving events, and fell to both the Nittany Lions and Wolverines overall.

The Nittany Lions next and final collegiate meet will have them travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Feb. 3rd. The event kicks off at 1 p.m.