On Saturday at McCoy Natatorium, the Penn State men's swimming and diving team had hoped to close out the regular season on a high note.

Unfortunately the Nittany Lions (6-2, 1-1 Big Ten) were unable to do so, falling to No. 23 Ohio State, 128-112.

After defeating the Buckeyes (10-1, 3-1) by one point last season, the Lions hoped to defeat their Big Ten rival again, this time at home on Senior Day.

For co-captains Mark Zucca, Dustin Thompson and Daryl Northrop, along with swimmer Patrik Johansson and diver Marc Gastaldo, the meet was their last at home.

"We got touched out in several races and that turned the tide of the meet and we lost the momentum," Penn State assistant coach Ed Bartsch said. "The first three or four races could go the other way, [and] the whole meet could have been different."

The Lions lost three of the first five events by a total of 0.24 seconds. Freshman Josh Graham finished second to Ohio State's Joe Doyle by two-hundredths of a second in the 200-yard freestyle.

Junior Chris Ippoliti placed third in the 200 IM relay, just two-tenths of a second behind winner Nathan King of Ohio State. Northrop was out-touched by two-hundredths in the 50 freestyle.

After those close finishes, the Lions trailed the Buckeyes 70-42 and were unable to recover the momentum they felt coming into the day.

"When we started off the meet, everyone was emotionally high, but we took some second and third places that we shouldn't have," Northrop said. "Everyone's heads wouldn't have drifted away. I think we were just seeing the score and lost focus."

Despite the loss, the Lions remain optimistic as the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 24 in Minneapolis approach. During the next three weeks, the Lions will look to get in the right state of mind for their conference championships.

"We're capable of doing better," Bartsch said. "It's time to get real focused and get a little bit nasty. Not that we're nice guys, but we just have to get a little bit nastier out there and want it a little bit more."