The give-and-take of the swimming season is embodied by the awards taken for effort given, the give of the water against strained muscles and the breaths inhaled to take another stroke.

In its final home meet of the year on Saturday, the Penn State women's swimming and diving team earned a 169-71 victory against Rutgers at McCoy Natatorium.

Though the team avoided a drop-off in performance that has frequently followed a strong start in meets this season, it did not swim at a top level for much of the Senior Day meet. Despite winning eight of 11 swimming events, not one of the swimmers posted an NCAA cut time.

"Lethargic from start to finish, so pretty consistent," coach Bill Dorenkott said. "[The team] lacked physical and emotional energy. I guess it's to be expected a little bit."

Senior Deirdre Dlugonski led the Lions (4-1) with three individual victories. She won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.27 seconds. She was also a member of the 200 medley (with senior Kristen Woodring, junior Sarah Haupt and sophomore Amberle Bierdermann) and 400 freestyle relay teams, which won in times of 1:44.49 and 3:27.60, respectively.

Seniors Larissa Kavchok and Kerry Smith and freshman Lauren Preyss were the other members of the 400 free relay.

Dorenkott said that the long break -- the team had not had a meet since the beginning of January -- might have contributed to the lack of energy. With just one meet left before the Big Ten championships, this is the time to fix any problems.

"My disappointment is our improvement from meet to meet. We have some folks that don't have some urgency, and they should," Dorenkott said. "If they put their minds to it, they can crush the conference. It's going to take a lot of resolve."

By all indications, this resolve will come from the 11 senior swimmers, who were honored in a ceremony during the meet.

Holding to a long-standing tradition, each swimmer is called out and given a blanket -- navy blue, with a large white "S" on it -- which the coach drapes over her shoulders in a symbolic graduation from the program.

In addition to the blanket, these swimmers have been given racing suits, warm-ups and access to training facilities. But all of these are secondary to the things that will last longer than the treads on their team-issue Nikes.

"It gives you a family. I've never had sisters, and they've all been my sisters," senior Kerry Smith said.

The swimming program has also given them the opportunity to practice most days before sunrise.

"You're just like, 'Why am I doing this?' But you look back and say, 'I'll take that any day,' " Smith said.

This sense of structure and routine also has motivational benefits.

"If I didn't have that set time [to get up], I'd just get up whenever, maybe go to class," senior diver Alison Riccobono said.

Riccobono won the 3-meter diving event, posting a score of 269.40. Fellow senior diver Corey Pagnotta won the 1-meter diving event Saturday with a score of 257.93.