Penn State men's swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott does not like to describe the summer as the off- season, and for good reason.

"We are competing at the highest level and between the men's and women's teams we have nine nationally ranked players," Dorenkott said. "There is no such thing as the in-season and off-season.

After a disappointing sixth place finish during the Big Ten championships last season, the Nittany Lions realized they needed to do something to improve.

Enter Olympian John Hargis.

John Hargis, before being hired in July, had been the assistant swimming coach at UNLV for a year.

"I've known him [Hargis] since he was 14," Dorenkott said. "He's a small town and loyal guy who brings a lot of enthusiasm to the team.

Hargis, who won the gold medal during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as part of the 400 medley relay team, is a 1999 graduate of Auburn, the reigning NCAA men's swimming and diving champions.

Coincidentally, the Lions face off against the Tigers this Saturday after a meet with Virginia on Friday.

Virginia, no pushovers either, won the ACC championship last season.

The biggest loss for the Lions this year is Eugene Botes who he is still on campus as a post-graduate training for the South African Olympic team.

Botes, who has dual citizenship in the United States and South Africa, became Penn State's first national champion after he won the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Swimming and Senior Nationals in August.

Dorenkott said that the team needs to move on after the loss of several key seniors.

"The bottom line is that we're not going to replace them," Dorenkott said. "They were a special gang who were extremely committed."