After losing the first four meets of the season, the Penn State men's swimming and diving team is picking up pace at just the right time.

The Nittany Lions (2-4) defeated West Chester (2-1), a Div. II school, 140-96 on Tuesday at the McCoy Natatorium after also winning Nov. 21 against St. Bonaventure.

"It was definitely a good meet," senior Todd Minnier said.

"We're picking up momentum at the right time as we head into the Georgia Invitational."

Minnier led the Nittany Lions with three individual event victories, including the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley.

This is the second meet in a row where Minnier has won the 200-yard IM.

Dustin Thompson also helped power the Lions past the Golden Rams with multiple wins - in the 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle.

"It was nice getting two wins before the break," Thompson said.

"It gives us a lot of confidence."

Willie Gordon continued his dominance in the 1000-yard freestyle by winning it for the third consecutive week.

The diving team also helped pace the Lions with diver Mike Alderman leading the squad in both the one and three-meter events. He won the 1-meter event with a score of 339.45 and the 3-meter event with a score of 339.82.

Since the meet against Washington where the Lions lost 152-136, Penn State has looked strong in recent meets.

Penn State swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott said he saw the team starting to improve and turn the corner then.

"We're starting to pace ourselves better in races," Minnier said. "We're getting better at starts and turns and our relays are coming together now."

Although the Nittany Lions have been improving, there are still a few areas in which there is room for improvement.

"We need to work on some technical stuff like our race plans and mental preparation," Thompson said.