So far this season, the Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams have been able to use the week between matches to strengthen their performances, while preparing for their next event. Imagine what the teams can do when given two weeks.

This weekend, after two off-weeks, the Nittany Lions will head to the Bell Grand Prix in Toronto, Canada on Nov. 23-25.

Action for the event will kick off 10 a.m. Thursday as the Lions look to continue their successful seasons. The men are coming off of their best performance two weeks ago at the Purdue Duals. The team was able to capture its first two overall wins, defeating both Utah 223-130 and Louisville 264-87. Sophomore David Kraft finished second in the 1000-meter freestyle, and sophomore Pat Schirk captured his third first-place finish in the backstroke.

Head coach Bill Dorenkott was happy with his swimmers' performance at the Duals, and is looking to use that success to build on.

"You know we performed at a level where I think we should be at during this part of the season," he said. "This week's match will showcase some of our best talent, and hopefully they will help us to continue our path towards our goal."

That goal is the NCAA Championships, which are quickly approaching. The Lions will try and improve their overall and individual times as they start to get prepared for the Big Ten Championships in February.

On the women's side, they return after almost a month of practice, with their last match coming in October.

In that event the Lions picked up 11 first place finishes, as well as winning all three duals. The team was led by senior Nikki Collins, who finished first in the 1000-meter freestyle match, and sophomore Kaitlin O'Brien, who took first in the 200 breaststroke and the 400 IM.

Dorenkott knows that his teams will have to step up their games as the season goes on, but is confident his swimmers will keep up the effort.

"It's getting closer and closer to crunch time," he said. "For many of the swimmers, they realize what is at stake, and hopefully they will bring the effort and dedication that I know they have in them."

After this event the Lions will head home to face West Chester on Dec. 2. Dorenkott isn't looking ahead, but just taking each match at a time.

"It's hard not to look ahead," he said. "We have to take it one match at a time, and ultimately if we do that, than our bigger goal becomes more and more realistic."