A season should read like a good book without the repetition of chapters on a continual progression toward a good ending.

The Penn State men's swimming and diving team is writing the perfect book.

This past Saturday the Nittany Lions defeated an up-and-coming Rutgers program by a substantial 146-95 margin at the Rutgers Aquatics Center in Piscataway, N.J.

"We're getting a little better each week -- incrementally," Penn State swimming coach Bill Dorenkott said.

Dorenkott admitted he was a little nervous about the focus of the team heading to New Jersey. The team had to get up at 6 a.m. Saturday, travel four hours by bus and then hit the pool at 1 p.m.

On top of the unfavorable travel schedule, the Lions were facing a bunch of hyped-up Rutgers swimmers on senior day.

Dorenkott had no reason to worry.

The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Todd Minnier, Eugene Botes, John Lutz and Daryl Northrop set a pool record in cruising to victory. Minnier also came away with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley.

Senior Matt Haupt swam exceptionally well, winning both the 200-yard freestyle and butterfly. Daryl Northrop and Conor MacDonald, two New Jersey products, also raced well in a homecoming of sorts.

The men's team now has improved its record to 3-2 and maintains a grasp on the No. 17 ranking in the country.

Three things are a given about this year's Lion squad: the swimmers get along really well, their attitude is positive and upbeat, and their work ethic is off the charts.

"Those three things together make a coach's job easy," Dorenkott said. "You really don't have to worry about [the team] getting focused or up for a meet ... it's been a real pleasure to work with these guys."

Winning by such a convincing margin makes the talk of a possible East Coast rivalry irrelevant -- for the time being.

"We would like to continue the rivalry and I think we will," Dorenkott said. "Anytime you get two flagship universities going head-to-head there is going to be high intensity."

Dorenkott stated that Rutgers vs. Penn State is not quite yet a rivalry, but it is surely developing.

For now, the Lions are not worrying about rivalries. They are too busy trying to write a storybook ending to this season.