The Penn State men's golf team will be teeing off a new season Saturday, hoping to begin its fall 2006 campaign with a successful road trip to Ann Arbor, home of the Wolverines.

The team will be competing in the Wolverine Invitational, a 54-hole tournament held at the University of Michigan Golf Course.

For the Nittany Lions, one of 14 teams in the field, it's an opportunity to set a positive tone for the future.

Last year's team dealt with some early struggles, finishing either 14th place or lower in each of its first four events of the spring season.

However, a fourth place finish at the Rutherford Intercollegiate -- a tournament held on Penn State's home course -- and a seventh place at the Big Ten Championships capped off last season with an optimistic note.

"[Last year's] schedule was earned by a team that finished 15th in the country and played by a bunch of new guys," head coach Greg Nye said.

Those "new guys", now sophomores, including Mitch Van Zelfden, Chad Bricker and Matthew Leon, will be expected to contribute even more heavily to a very young team.

Many members of the team performed well in tournaments over the summer, which has Nye excited about his players' chances to do well.

Robert Rohanna, a junior who consistently led the Lions last year, won the Western Pennsylvania Public Links title.

Bricker was able to capture a prestigous first in the Pennsylvania Amateur Championship. Those were two successes that could help translate into a quick start for these golfers.

"We are a younger team, but we proved ourselves over the summer," freshman Kevin Foley said. "We really have a chance to compete and do well now."

If that is going to happen, Penn State will have to stand up to some stiff competition, starting with Big Ten rival Michigan, who will defend its team title, at its home course, in the Wolverine Invitational this weekend.

Penn State finished in ninth place last year, which is a mark that they will need to improve on.

Nye is not worried, though. He thinks last year's performances will go an extremely long way in shaping this group.

"Any time you play a quality opponent, it raises your level of play. The deceiving thing about last year was the youth of the team versus the quality of the opponents," Nye said. "If you look at just pure numbers those can fool you but if you look at the experience gotten by young people, last year was a success."

If the Nittany Lions can learn from that experience and keep up their recent momentum, they could make huge strides this upcoming season.