Practice may make perfect, but sometimes too much of a good thing can grow old.

Nearly a month since its last competitive meet, the No. 21 Penn State womens' swimming and diving team headed south to Athens, Ga., to compete in the Georgia Invitational over the weekend, ready to take on some new faces other than those of its teammates.

However, the task waiting for the Nittany Lions inside the Gabrielson Natatorium was not an easy one.

Included in the five-team field were the No. 3-ranked University of Georgia and the No. 24-ranked Florida State University, not to mention the University of Alabama and the University of Minnesota.

Brushing off the rust, the Lions finished third with a score of 661.5, well behind Georgia's 1166.5 and Florida State's 896. Alabama and Minnesota finished a distant fourth and five respectively with scores of 488 and 161.

Throughout the three-day invitational, the Lady Bulldogs dominated the meet and in the process built an insurmountable lead.

Overall, Georgia won 14 of the 21 events, led by freshman Mary DeScenza and senior Maritza Correia.

DeScenza continued her hot start to the season by winning both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly while Correia took first place in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. DeScenza and Correia were also a part of three winning relay teams, the 100-, 200- and 400-yard freestyle events.

Correia also was apart of the relay team that won the 800-yard freestyle relay.

"Having a meet that was not real big and having the opportunity to swim twice [prelims and finals], has definitely helped our team," said Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle in a press release. "Those kids were the stars."

The Lions on the other hand had only one victory over the three days, sophomore Courtney Stanchock's win in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Freshman Lisa Silvestri resumed her early season dominance of the one- and three-meter diving events, taking second in the three-meter event and finished third on the one-meter board. No other Penn State swimmer placed above fourth place in the meet.

The Lions will embark on a two-week trip to Florida beginning on Dec. 29 before returning to face Indiana University after the New Year.