This weekend, the Penn State men's water polo team is hoping to finally achieve a goal it has sought after ever since the formation of the club.

The team will travel to Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., today, expecting to return to Penn State as the 2005 Men's National Collegiate Water Polo Club Champions.

Penn State is seeded seventh in the 16-team tournament, with a first-round match against Florida International University at 4 p.m. today. The team believes it will win the first round and work its way to tougher opponents in the Arizona and UCLA.

"Everyone's happy that we are in nationals. But once we're there, we're going there to win," senior goalie Eddie Silverman said.

Dedication and great team leadership this season has led the team to where it is today. The water polo team, ranked No. 9 in the country, has not reached Nationals since 1998, when it fell short in the finals and was awarded second place.

Since then, the team has repeatedly tried to return, only to be thwarted in the Mid-Atlantic Division by its two main division rivals, Villanova and the University of Pennsylvania.

This year, however, the team was finally able to bulldoze the invisible barrier that halted its return to the top of the Mid-Atlantic Division.

"The first time we played Villanova, which is a main competitor in our region, we lost to them in overtime. In regional, we beat them by 10-8. That was a big deal to us," Silverman said.

Preparation for nationals began early on in the fall semester. The team practices Sunday through Thursday in Penn State's McCoy Natatorium from 9:30 p.m. to midnight.

Practices begin with dry land workouts such as pushups and sit-ups. Then the guys get in the pool to swim, do shooting drills and normally end the night with a scrimmage. Conditioning outside of practice is beneficial but not mandatory.

Since the team has no formal coach, the seniors have become coaches, rotating authority at the practices. One member, senior driver Brad Hartman, used to swim for the Penn State varsity squad. He often leads the team in the swimming portion of the practices.

The loss of some strong players from last year has posed a small problem for the team. However, many members of the team have played with or against each other since high school. Constant social interaction, both inside and outside of practice, has also brought this team together and been helpful in leading it to a division title.

"I think we play a lot better as a team. We've lost a couple people but the core of the team has been playing together for at least two years now," junior offensive hole set Ben Radcliff said.

"We got a lot of guys that come off the bench and contribute right away. Everyone participates and everyone helps out," senior defensive set Robbie Thomas said.

Forgetting about failures from previous years, the team is confident that its successful regular season will carry it to a national championship.

"We're going to win," junior driver Adam Filer said.