The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete in the Shamrock Invitational in South Bend, Ind., this weekend, as they attempt to make one last push toward the Big Ten Championships.

Notre Dame will serve as host for the invitational, which will include swimmers from Connecticut, West Virginia and Oakland. Action for the meet begins at 5 p.m. today and will resume tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Fresh off of playing host to two events, head coach Bill Dorenkott is running practices as normal, and he is excited at the opportunity to face off against top programs.

"This week is no different from any other week of the season, other than the fact that we are getting closer to the Big Tens and NCAAs," he said. "It is always good to have a quality competition to gauge what strengths and weaknesses need to be addressed."

The Nittany Lions are coming off of an impressive performance last weekend where the women's team (7-0), ranked No. 15, defeated Rutgers and fellow Big Ten opponent Ohio State. Senior Nikki Collins achieved her fifth first-place finish of the year, and freshman Lyndsey Smith won her first career event in the 200-meter breaststroke.

The men had an even more convincing win over Rutgers, claiming 15 of 16 events. Coming off of a sweep of the men's diving events against Rutgers in the three-meter and the one-meter springboard, Big Ten Diver of the week, senior Mike Alderman looks to continue his dominance this weekend against No. 16 ranked Notre Dame and No. 20 West Virginia.

Senior Dan Kaiserian, accustomed to first-place finishes, placed second last weekend in the 200 -yard medley, second in the 100-yard butterfly, and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, and he hopes to rebound this weekend.

However, after surprising performances from junior Pat Bukowski in the three-meter springboard, freshman Daniel Fimbianti in the 100- and 200- yard backstroke, and sophomore Patrick Schirk in the 200-yard freestyle, the men's team looks to be gaining momentum at exactly the right time.

With the men's and women's teams seemingly hitting their strides just before the Big Ten Championships, Dornekott looks to use that momentum to his advantage and finish off an extremely successful season.

"Last week was good for the team and staff," he said. "We were solid, but need to get better. This weekend will be a terrific opportunity to compete with some well coached programs."