High school seniors across the country are frantically trying to decide which college or university they will attend in the fall, but there are nine girls who have already made their decision. They will be attending Penn State as the women's swimming class of 2007.

One of those nine girls, Margy Keefe, almost canceled her visit to Penn State and was set to go to North Carolina, but Penn State swimming coach Bill Dorenkott convinced her to visit anyway.

Dorenkott said Keefe seemed to fit in very well when she visited.

"We just clicked when she came," he said. "She has a great personality and will be a tremendous addition to our program in and out of the pool."

Part of Keefe's reason to choose Penn State was its atmosphere.

"I love the team and coaches," she said. "I also liked how all the athletes from all the different sports supported each other."

Keefe, who hails from Cincinnati, will join the Penn State squad as a distance freestyle swimmer.

Unlike Keefe, Erin Morris visited Penn State early in the recruitment process. However, this made Dorenkott somewhat nervous because she visited many other schools such as the University of Tennessee, University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama after Penn State.

Morris said she couldn't pinpoint one thing that made her choose Penn State, but rather it was an overall feeling.

"I had a gut feeling when I got there and that's what made me pick it," she said. "I loved everything about Penn State."

Morris will look to help the team during the short distance freestyle, individual medley, and backstroke events.

Two of the nine girls did not have a tough decision because they have been acquainted with Penn State for many years.

Wesley Swafford from Ft. Mitchell, Ky., has known she liked Penn State since eighth grade because she swam on a club team in the Cincinnati area with 2002 Penn State graduate and swimmer Barb Mulshine.

Swafford will come to Penn State to swim in the short distance freestyle, breaststroke, individual medley and butterfly.

Rachael Ahrenhold of Bluebell has been visiting Penn State for several years because her father is a former football player and her mother is also an alumna.

"She is a Penn Stater through and through," Dorenkott said of the four-time All-American sprint freestyle swimmer.

Rikki Covey comes to Penn State from Spokane, Wash., as a freestyle swimmer. Covey was a first-team All-American during her high school career.

"We are pretty fortunate to get Rikki because she was heavily recruited nationally," Dorenkott said. "Rikki possesses the tools to be an impact swimmer for the Nittany Lions."

Carmel, Ind., resident Nikki Collins will join the team of freestyle swimmers upon her arrival at Penn State.

"We had a strong gut feeling about Nikki because we received strong feedback from coaches in the Midwest," Dorenkott said.

The second of only two recruits from Pennsylvania is Jessica Barnes of Glenmore.

Barnes said Dorenkott had a great deal to do with her decision to swim (backstroke) for Penn State.

"He had confidence in me," she said. "I knew I would be able to accomplish my goals at Penn State."

Joining Barnes as a backstroke swimmer will be Chelsea Frank of Bedford, N.H.

"We are pretty excited to have an athlete out of her program [Seacoast Swimming Association]," Dorenkott said. "She will definitely show improvement over her four years here."

The ninth girl who will join the Nittany Lions is Claire Hawley, a distance and 400-yard individual medley swimmer.

The Cape Cod, Mass., resident visited Penn State in the spring of her junior year.

"We knew from the get-go that she would be something special and will have great leadership," Dorenkott said.

Dorenkott said he picked these girls based on their overall characteristics, not just their times.

"Ultimately, we want to get some folks in here who are focused on their academics and secondly, we want to see how good they can be in the pool, in that order," he said. "I feel we definitely got some kids who are really going to help elevate the program at the national and international level."