For most sports teams, the tough opponents only come towards the heart and end of a season. For the Penn State men's swimming team, it is a little different.

Starting today and finishing tomorrow, the team will face three tough opponents in only its third meet of the season. One of those teams is the defending national champion, Auburn.

Penn State is currently 2-0 and is looking to continue its winning streak.

This weekend, the team will travel to Charlottesville, Va., to compete against No. 17 Virginia, No. 14 Purdue and No. 1 Auburn. The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 23 in the country, are hoping to make a big statement as they swim alongside the best in the country. According to Penn State men's swimming coach Bill Dorenkott, this year's team has shown a significant amount of improvement from last year.

"I finally feel that we are in a position to compete against teams like Purdue and Virginia," Dorenkott said.

This meet will show Dorenkott and the team where they stand among other ranked teams. After this weekend, Dorenkott will know more of what needs to be accomplished by the end of the season.

For the 13 freshmen attending the meet, it will be the first highly competitive meet of their Penn State career. In the first two meets of the season, the new swimmers showed a lot of talent and are continuing to adapt and improve.

"Since the bulk of the team, numbers wise, are freshmen and sophomores, I want to see those kids mature quickly in terms of their competitiveness," Dorenkott said.

After a week of slightly less intense practices, the swimmers are displaying confidence going up against challenging opponents this weekend. The mindset going into this weekend remains calm and positive.

"With all the preparation we are putting in, we're expecting a good outcome," sophomore Rob Felty said. "There's nothing like a lot of good swims at the beginning of the season."

With top-ranked Auburn in the competition, the upperclassmen have been leading by example and are planning to treat them like any other team. There is a lot of hype around Auburn with many experts still labeling them as the best team in the country. Giving into the hype will only hinder the swimmers, according to junior Dan Kaiserian.

"We're going to the meet to swim against Auburn," Kaiserian said. "Virginia and Purdue are just going to be there. They're just another team, and we're going to beat them, too. We want to step up and pound them, from the first event to the last event."

Even though Auburn is obviously the toughest opponent with a 3-0 season record, Virginia and Purdue are still decent opponents. Virginia's team is currently 2-1 overall and Purdue is 3-0 on its young season. Rival Big Ten opponent Purdue also provides some incentive for the Penn State team. Purdue finished fifth in the Big Ten last year, ahead of Penn State's eighth-place finish in the conference.

"You don't want to lose to teams like Michigan, Ohio State or Purdue," Kaiserian said. "They're in your conference. You don't want to lose to them."

Losing to any of the three teams at this weekend's meet is something that has drifted from the minds of these swimmers. They want to make a statement and prove themselves not only to their team but also to their opponents.

"I am hoping by the end of this weekend, a lot of programs around the country will take note of Penn State," Kaiserian said.