As expected, Minnesota and Michigan are off to a fast start at the 2004 Big Ten swimming and diving championships.

After two sessions yesterday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center and Doris Holloway Pool in West Lafayette, Ind., Penn State is in sixth place with 96.5 points, just behind Wisconsin with 109.5.

Minnesota is leading the pack with 207.5 points, followed by Michigan at 187.

"It's no surprise," Penn State swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott said. "I've seen our men's team on the top and on the bottom of the league, but I expect us to be on top again pretty soon."

Dorenkott was especially proud of his two relay teams yesterday. Todd Minnier, Daryl Northrop, Patrik Johansson and Chris Ippoliti led the Nittany Lions to a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay with an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:20:35.

Minnier and Northrop joined Dan Velez and Shawn McLin on the 400-yard medley relay, leading them to a seventh-place finish (3:16:95) and another NCAA "B" cut time. The "B" cut times are used for consideration into the NCAA tournament.

"Six sessions are going to dictate our level of success, and the key is to stay steady," Dorenkott said. "We said in the beginning that our goal was 300 points and right now we're on track to meet this goal."

Dorenkott also mentioned the diving component as a crucial part of yesterday's sessions.

The team was led by Mike Alderman and Adam Pierce who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with 306.75 and 306.7 points on the 1-meter board.

"This was the first time I made it to the finals at the Big Tens," Alderman said. "And I think I handled it well."

In retrospect, Alderman said that although he didn't do anything spectacular, he was consistent.

The diving team will perform on the 3-meter board today and will conclude tomorrow on the platform.

The meet will continue today and tomorrow with preliminaries at noon and finals at 7 p.m.