The Penn State men's swimming and diving team defeated Rutgers, 143-99, Saturday, but not in the convincing fashion the Lions would have liked.

"We didn't really do that great, but we got it done," junior Shawn McLin said.

"We're pretty beat up and tired, so it's good to get the win under the circumstances."

After weeks of intense weight lifting and training, Penn State coach Bill Dorenkott acknowledged that his team might be beaten up physically, but he sees that as no excuse for the Nittany Lions' showing.

The Lions (4-1) came out flat mentally for the meet against the Scarlet Knights (5-2).

"I'm a lot more concerned about with how you compete when you're not at your best than how you compete when you're at your best," Dorenkott said.

"If you have bad habits when you're down, you're going to have bad habits when you're up."

The team hopes to be "up" in time for the Big Ten championships in four weeks in Bloomington, Ind., when swimmers will not only compete for a conference title, but look to earn qualifying times for the NCAA championships in March at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

Following Senior Day ceremonies for the women's team at the midway point of Saturday's meet, Dorenkott spoke to the men's team regarding its lack of focus.

"He just said we should pick it up, and we shouldn't lose to this team," said McLin.

McLin won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:52.16.

"We could have been a little better prepared regardless of where we are in terms of being tired or fresh," Dorenkott said, "so I just gave them a little kick in the seat of the pants and said, 'Let's step up and get the job done.' "

After the talk, the Lions became more vocal supporting teammates in the water, until the 500 free.

During that event, several swimmers on the pool deck looked at the times on the scoreboard in disappointment.

Freshman Josh Graham, Penn State's highest finisher in the 500 free, came in fourth (4:51.35), a full 10 seconds slower than first-place finisher Sean Smith of Rutgers.

A bright spot for the Lions was senior Daryl Northrop, who took first place in three events.

In addition to winning the 50 free and the 400 free relay, Northrop won the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay, along with McLin, freshman Kyle Miranda and junior Patrik Johansson (1:32.35).

Another group that did not disappoint was Penn State's diving corps.

Senior Adam Pierce won the 1-meter diving event and classmate Marc Gastaldo took first place in the 3-meter event.

"I thought our kids did exactly what they needed to do to be ready for Big Tens," diving coach Craig Brown said.

"I'm excited where the kids are at right now."

The Lions face Missouri and Iowa this coming weekend before returning home for a Big Ten meet against Ohio State.

"We weren't especially impressive today," Dorenkott said.

"We have some things to work on here over the course of the next four weeks."

Lane Lines

After event 28 of 32, swimming was halted inside McCoy Natatorium for what was called the Ultimate Water Golf Challenge.

A floating island green with a hole about a foot in diameter was placed in the center of the pool.

Contestants hit golf balls off the pool deck toward the hole in hopes of getting a hole-in-one and securing season tickets for next year's football campaign.

Two of the seven contestants nearly won, bouncing their shots on the green and barely missing the hole.