The Penn State men's swimming and diving team won its second meet of the season on Friday against LaSalle University, improving to 2-0. The meet took place at McCoy Natatorium with the Nittany Lions winning decisively, 143-91. Head coach Bill Dorenkott was pleased to see the swimmers adjust and compete in races with which they were unfamiliar.

"We did well swimming in a lot of off events today," Dorenkott said. "Our focus and intensity helped propel us to victory."

Coach Dorenkott was also pleased to find that his team was not sluggish to start the meet. Facing a lesser opponent, it was important for the team to avoid swimming below its own level.

"Sometimes it is hard to get up and focus when you know you should come away with a win," Dorenkott said. "It was good to see that we competed at a high level throughout the meet."

The team swam strong from the start. Senior Shawn McLin, sophomore Brad Roth, and freshmen Tim Williams and Ryan DeWeese took first place in the 400-yard medley relay for the team's first win of the day. McLin also won the 500-yard freestyle event.

"I think we did pretty well overall," McLin said. "We have a lot more work to do, but we are definitely making progress."

Performances from junior Dan Kaiserian and senior co-captain Chris Ippoliti also contributed the win. Kaiserian came in first place in the 200 freestyle event, and Ippoliti won the 500 free. Sophomore Josh Graham won the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke events. Coach Dorenkott was also impressed by performances from some of the freshmen, especially Vince Reydams, who won the 100 free.

"We thought Vince might be a two-year project, but so far he has really stepped up," Dorenkott said. "He's learning quickly and improving with every practice."

According to Dorenkott, a limited number of spots for next week's meet at the University of Virginia motivated Reydams and other freshmen. The team will have to leave at least three players behind for the competition.

"It has been good to see some guys step up and compete for a spot on the bus," Dorenkott said. "But I'm hoping to see more of a sense of urgency from others. This meet will tell us how much progress we have made."

Despite Friday's win, the team understands that next week will be a true test. Facing its stiffest competition thus far, the team will compete against Virginia, Auburn, and conference foe Purdue.

"This was a good warm-up for a tough meet against three quality teams," said Kaiserian. "We need to be mentally prepared if we are going to have a shot."

McLin looks forward to the challenge, hoping that the team will ride its confidence to an upset and prove itself to be competitive in the Big Ten.

"If our hearts are in it and we work at it, I think we can pull something off."