By Chardonnai Johnson, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Chlorine? Check. Pool? Check. Buckets, paddles, swim gear, and dozens of goggled swimmers diving and surfacing simultaneously? Double check.

This was sight at the McCoy Natatorium during the days leading up to the Big Ten Swim Meet. The men's meet, scheduled to begin Feb. 22.

"The thing with swimming is," said men's and women's swimming coach John Hargis. "You're going to be hard pressed to find another sport that puts in the hours that swimmers have to put in."

Both pools in the natatorium are filled with swimmers in different lanes whose heads are consistently appear and disappear while Hargis is talking. The whole room is filled with the sound of splashes and whistles. This is an everyday practice scene according to Hargis.

The swimmers put in about 20 hours a week during a typical season for training and practice. A lot of the athletes put in extra time weight lifting and training at their own accord though.

"Some of the goals these kids have take place in the summer," said Hargis. "So the dedication they have is pretty impressive."

Hargis said that because swimming is a year-round sport, the team never really stops practicing. Save for the Big Ten though. Most would expect the practice to be amped up and more intense around that time. This isn't the case.

Practice is routine and structured any other day. It's only leading up to a big meet when things surprisingly die down a little.

"Right now it's just rest and sharpening really," said Hargis. "They've put in months and months of training. Now it's time to let their bodies recover and sharpen up."

The conference meet itself is four days said Hargis and it's pretty intense for the swimmers. There are seven sessions in the conference including two relays the first night. The next day will call for three individual events as well as the 400 medley relay.

"Some of these kids will be competing a lot in just three days," said Hargis. "They'll be swimming a lot."

As if to emphasize this point, one of the swimmers in the pool closest to Hargis dumps a bright orange bucket of water into the pool making a loud splash. The other swimmers, alternating between male and female, reach the end of their laps and surface.

There are red paddles attached to their hands used during practice to add resistance to their strokes. Hargis wasn't kidding when he said it's all about the details and sharpening before the Big Ten meet. He has high hopes for the team at this meet and he doesn't want to exhaust them.

"We want to just get the most qualifiers we can get to the NCAAs," said Hargis. "Honestly, we want to go there and just win the meet."

The time leading up to the conference doesn't seem to fly by as quickly as the actual conference does. Hargis said the meet happens pretty quickly and then it's over.

"The Big Ten Meet is probably one of the fastest meets in the country," said Hargis. "It'll be a good meet though. A fun meet."

After stopping to instruct the swimmers to "go 50 easy and check their buckets," Hargis said that the meet is not only exhausting for the athletes, but also for him.

"It's a fun meet, but it's very intense," he said with a laugh. "I don't sleep.  But it's fun to be a part of."

Preparing a team for any big competition no matter what the sport is always a tough job, but Hargis said that coaching for him isn't just about the sport itself. He teaches them to be better athletes, but he also said coaches should be a teacher and a role model for their athletes.

"We try to shape the swimmer all four years and in all aspects," said Hargis. "Make them better people and better students. We look at the entire person, not just the swimmer."

With past experiences with meets and swimmers, Hargis said that he's expecting a little nervous energy from his athletes during the Big Ten Championships. It's normal and perfectly natural.

"It's a matter of not letting the nervous energy turn into negative energy," said Hargis. "I don't want them to doubt themselves. I'm thinking positive."

Something about the determined strokes of every athlete at this practice just a week ago tells me there will be nothing to worry about come Wednesday.

By Alexa Hetzel

Hello Penn State Fans,

Welcome back to another week in Happy Valley.  This past weekend a majority of us spent our time swimming in the Senior meet and watching the Super Bowl.  I saw most of the parents at the meet, but if you didn't get a chance to make it out to McCoy Natatorium I can fill you in.

This past Friday the boys had a duel meet against Buffalo.  It was a great meet and a lot of the boys swam fast which is an encouraging and positive sign for the weeks to come.  The following Saturday we spent the meet honoring the Seniors in our last duel meet ever in McCoy Natatorium.  Being a part of those 11 men and women was really an honor to have made it that far but was also very sad.  Most of us have been swimming for longer then we can remember so hearing for real that it is all coming to a rapid end was emotional.  I must say though we are lucky.  This year we actually had teams make it to the pool.  The past two years Lehigh has failed to come because of the weather, so it was a nice change to compete against another team.  We also welcomed the Saint Francis women's team to compete.  Both the men's and women's team competed well and really used every chance given to race.

Along with honoring the 11 Seniors we were also lucky enough to have some Navy members come and swim their first dual meet of the season at our pool.  These men have served in the current war and some have injuries, but it was such an honor to have them here and to get to watch them compete.  It was such an eye opening experience and I think everyone really enjoyed it, the Navy men included.

This past Sunday we, along with millions of Americans, enjoyed the Super Bowl action.  We made lots of food including taco dip ,buffalo chicken dip, sandwiches, pasta salad, and much more.  We had a lot of options to choose from which is typical at most Super Bowl gatherings you attend.  As we settled in to watch the game most of the people in the room were cheering on the Patriots because of our newest Penn State member coach Bill O'Brien.  I was very torn being a New Jersey native and life long Giants fan as well and bleeding blue and white.  So really I had it the best because no matter which team won I would have been happy.  But now that the Super Bowl is over we are lucky to have Coach O'Brien back at Happy Valley and finally stepping into his head coaching duties full time.  So welcome Coach O'Brien.

As the days fly by we are closer and closer to the main event of the season, Big Tens.  This team has the potential to do some wonderful things so I encourage everyone to watch our progress as we head to Iowa City next Tuesday, the 14^th.

                                    WEstillARE

By Alexa Hetzel

Hello All Penn State Fans,

Welcome to February everyone.  February respresents a lot of important things for Penn State.  This is the month that we all head to Big Tens to compete in our biggest meet of the year to hopefully get us to NCAAs.  This is the week that starts a new chapter for all of Penn State including athletics with the ending of a legacy and few chapters of history.  And it starts a new chapter.

Last week was the memorial for Joe Paterno.  I hope most of you had a chance to watch it because it was amazing.  It was sad that all of the Letterman, ICA staff (intercollegiate athletics) and students gathered together into the BJC for the death of a great man.  But truth be told he brought all of us together for a reason.  Hearing story after story about Joe and how he recruited a player by claiming one mother's pasta was better than Mrs. Cappelletti's or how every player would earn a quality education every story came back to one thing, Joe's legacy.  He didn't leave behind 409 wins, the second largest stadium in the country, two national championships or Big Ten titles.  He left behind all of us sitting in the BJC, and every Penn Stater watching on TV.  He left behind young men and women, people that will go into the world and change it for the better because that is what he taught us to do.  Joe Paterno may be dead but he will never stop teaching because his way of teaching is the Penn State way and it will never be forgotten.

I would say Fran Fisher, the real "Voice" of Penn State and a long time friend of Joe, said it best, "It's something of an unusual circumstance when an older man's life is influenced by a younger man.  Such is the case when considering my association with Joe Paterno. Just being around him made me a better person. His legacy lives through the lives of the thousands of players and associates he touched.  He made a difference ... I loved him ... I will miss him."  It is sad to say that all good things must come to an end, but it's true.  We say goodbye to a great man and close the book he wrote and start a new one.  But one good thing that gives me comfort is the fact that Joe's book will be reopened and read over and over.

This month is the best month to start a new book since it will be our highest level of competition and should be our best one yet.  To have been a part of this team the past year has been an honor.  Watching everyone grow and work together to build up to what we have achieved has been so exciting.  I will never be able to describe the feeling of a Big Ten championship.  The range of emotion that runs through you is the widest spectrum of emotion I've ever felt, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.  Penn State swimming and diving has always had to prove itself time and time again and we have.  We rise to every challenge whether it be not getting a ranking we deserve or not.  But I can say this year at Big Tens, we will rise to the challenge and all 11 other teams better watch out because we will not slow down and we will run over the competition.

I hope you all follow the results and the team into competition.  With two weeks until the first events there is a lot of excitement beginning to build. 

                        WEstillARE

By Alexa Hetzel

Not being from the state of Pennsylvania, one thing I've always noticed on the highways was the fact that there are no street lights.  So as I was driving along Route 220 Sunday night and the sky was bright in one spot there was only one real explanation.

After four years of playing the game Joe intended to go to Boston University Law School but changed his mind and followed Rip Engle to Penn State. Little did anyone know Joe would never leave.  A quote I came across explains it the best, "His mother wanted a doctor.  His dad would have been happy with an engineer.  Little did they know that we were getting a legend." 

The repercussions of the decisions we make in life aren't always visible at the time.  When I chose Penn State I had no idea the impact the people I have meet here would have on my life, or the effect one man had.  I never had the honor to meet Joe, that was something I had always wanted to do.  But even having not met him personally his actions and his decisions made me a different person.

 I was asked what my favorite memory of Joe was and when I thought about it a few came to mind.  Watching him being hoisted on the shoulders of his players after his 400^th win, listening to him talk at Football Eve, watching him argue with his assistant coaches because he wanted to do a specific play.  But those all weren't good enough, and then I had it.  My freshman year the Nittany Lions were outstanding.  They were undefeated when we were supposed to play Illinois at our first night game.  At the pep rally the Friday night before the game Joe came with the team to talk to the 6,000 people that squished together to get in.  There had been reports saying that Illinois was going to beat us so bad they were going to grind us like meat, and Joe's simple response to end the night after motivating everyone to join in the White Out and cheer was "I'll bring the meatballs."  Needless to say we won that game, and that year we won the Big Ten Championship and went to the Rose Bowl.

So as I drove towards Beaver Stadium the bright light became brighter and brighter.  I hurried the rest of the way to make it for the vigil to honor the man that made me laugh, scream, cry and happy and when I got there Old Main was packed.  The words of Shane McGregor were echoing off the cement columns and out towards the crowd touching each Penn Stater one by one.  When it was all over and I looked to my left and right and saw people joining together getting ready to sing our Alma Mater, it made me smile.  It isn't quite something you can explain but the feeling I had I won't ever forget.  I have always been proud to be a Penn Stater but at that moment I was joined to the thousands of people who felt the same way. 

To the man who made "Success With Honor" a way of life instead of just a saying, who made more that 23 million people bleed blue and white, who had the highest graduation rate in the country, and who is now with his number one fan with his favorite colors all around him, you were more than just a football coach.  You were more than 400 wins, you changed the lives of millions of people and we will always be forever grateful.  You will always be remembered.

We Are...and always will be....Penn State

By Scott Marino

Training trip is truly a unique time of the year for the swimming team. While we have to leave our families and friends at home after the holidays, we get to travel to Naples, Florida for some quality time as a team both in and out of the pool. 

We all arrived down here in Florida on the 28^th of December.  Everyone made it safely, with minimal glitches in travel plans.  We hit the ground running from our first afternoon practice and we haven't looked back.  From a training standpoint, this is a great couple of weeks to put in a good amount of work in the pool without the distractions of schoolwork and with the added benefit of being in warmer weather while training in an outdoor facility that can accommodate the whole team at once.  We are also able to train both long course meters in the morning and short course yards in the afternoon.  This allows for a lot of practice variations and different approaches to workouts. 

This whole year, there has been a stress on making the most out of every opportunity that is given to us.  Training trip is a perfect time for the team to take advantage of a huge opportunity.  We are able to workout without the stress or schoolwork and classes.  Instead of having to go to a class period, we are able to use the time in between practices to recover, nap, and relax before our next workout.  From speaking with my fellow teammates who swim in different groups, it is fair to say that the team has been doing some great work thus far and we are looking to finish out the next couple of days with just as great work as we started with.

Training trip is not only a great time to get in quality training, but also a time for the team to mesh together in a different environment than our own campus.  This is equally as important as the training in creating a strong team culture.  With more free time, we get to hang out more often with teammates we may not see as much during the busy school days.  Everyone enjoyed an afternoon trip to the beach on New Years day, where we got a fair amount of sun and had a great time relaxing and hanging out with each other; surely not something we are able to do in Pennsylvania at this time of year. 

While staying in Florida, we also get to room with teammates that we may have never lived with before.  This allows for teammates to interact with the other guys from different classes and training groups.  My fellow roommates, Matt Salig (sophomore) and Kurtis Ratcliff (freshman), are teammates who I get to train with, but don't have the opportunity to live with, so it is fun to hang out with them during our down time.  Looking back upon my own freshmen year, I recall training trip as the time when I became closest with my friends and teammates.  It was a time when I realized how much I truly enjoyed being around my team, even during the many hours of tiring workouts.

While we may be in for some cooler weather in the next coming days, the team has a positive outlook upon the last couple days of the trip.  We know that there is still more tough training to come, yet it is not without fun times with teammates before heading back to Penn State for the start of another semester.

Penn State Proud,

Scott Marino

By Alexa Hetzel

Hello Penn State Fans,

Happy New Year to you all! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years with family a friends.  I'm hopeful each one of you got to see a member of the team over break.

For the last week, we've spent our time training in Florida.  The bus pulled from McCoy Natatorium around 12 noon on December 27^th and drove through the day to get into Naples Florida around 11:30 am, the next morning.  For the 20 of us that were on the bus we spent our time watching movies, listening to music, reading and playing words with friends.  We passed the time together and made it safely.  The rest of the team met us at the hotel.

Since our first day we hit the pavement running.  Our training has taken the usual turn towards the peak of the season and I must say I've never been so impressed with everyone.  Spirits are up and the team is taking "training trip" to a whole new level.  Our determination to suceed continues to get stronger as we get deeper and deeper into the trip and our bodies get more and more sore.  But as we see it, there's no snow here!  Just beautiful sun and fortunetly no one has been singed by the sun too badly.

On New Year's Day we spent our afternoon away from the pool and on the beach.  As we walked past the rest of the beach goers we somewhat glowed from our lighter color skin and of course, traveld as the "blob".  The "Blob" is our nickname when we all walk together in a giant group, usually to breakfast after morning practice or to dinner after afternoon, but the "blob" reformed as we marched our way through the sand to our spot.  The water was cool and refreshing and we spent time on the sand bank not too far of shore.  And to our amazement we saw dolphins for the second year in a row.

And in true Penn State spirit the team spent the day between practices watching the bowl game.  Watching our fellow Penn Staters, student-athletes and best of all friends, play for the win.  Whether they won or not it still reunited all Penn Staters across the country.  It brought the good back to us all and showed that we will stand strong, together till the end.  That is something to be proud of and I am.

As the trip enters its second week more fun awaits the team.  Tonight, January 3^nd, we will spend as a girls team figuring out who Santa is for girl and coach on the team.  It should be an eventful night!  January 4^th we take on UNC in our annual meet and it should be a good, fast meet.  It'll be a good showing of how much stronger this trip has made us.  And our last hoorah together we will spend Thursday, January 5^th, in our annual Bake Off.  Our competitive nature comes out as we strive to be the best bakers we can! 

So stay tuned for who the best "Bettey Crocker" is!

Until next time...WEstill ARE!

By Scott Marino, Senior Co-Captain

This week the Penn State swim team is working on a balancing act.  It's final exam week and there are a lot of final projects, papers, and exams that need to be completed before the end of the semester this Friday.  It is obviously an extremely important time for everyone to be at their best in the classroom.  Our team has set lofty goals academically and we are hoping to raise the team GPA even higher. In order to do so, everyone on the team has to put forth their best effort.  Everyone has to be performing well in the classroom while also excelling in the pool, which is a huge challenge. 

One of the biggest challenges of participating in college athletics is being able to manage your time.  With double practices, weights, and dryland workouts, it can be difficult to make sure you are making every class and getting all your work done.  Another obstacle is making up work when the team leaves campus for competition.  It's crucial to make up whatever is missed while we are away.  Something we encourage each other on the team to do is get a head of work while it is possible and also to communicate with teachers about the competition schedule.  By doing so, you can stay on top of the busy work load and seek out a professor's help if need be. 

During this finals week, it is important we are still getting work done in the pool too.  The team has put in a ton of great work so far this semester and achieved success at the recent Ohio State Invitational.  As we roll into Christmas training and our trip to Naples, Florida it is essential we are still giving our all in the pool.  There is no time to be simply satisfied, but it is also crucial that we are making sure that our class work and exams are the highest priority.  That makes this week a true balancing act.

This semester has surely been a busy one.  The team has constantly been at work and we are all looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family and friends at home.  We are also looking forward to a break from classwork and being able to train in the warmth of Florida, as State College seems has gotten dramatically colder in the last couple weeks.  With great opportunities ahead, the team is looking to create some positive momentum in the coming weeks as we roll into the second semester of the year.

Penn State Proud,

Scott Marino

By Alexa Hetzel

Hello Penn State Swimming and Diving Fans,

It's amazing to me that it is already December and that this past weekend we spent competing at our midseason meet.  Where the year has gone I can't tell you, but I can tell you about the amazing few days we had in Columbus, Ohio representing Penn State.

Our December midseason meet has always been a fast one since I've been at Penn State.  There are always break out swims, best times, and season bests reached while we remain untappered and unshaved.  This year was no different.

It would be an understatement to say that going into this past weekend we didn't have high expectations.  We drove five hours to swim fast and that's exactly what was accomplished. 

The first day of competition may not be our strongest with only a few events, consisting of the 500 free, 200 IM, and the 50 free, but we made sure it was a strong day.  We had people back in every event and had multiple people in the scoring heats, first to sixteenth, as well as in the bonus final.  When we left the pool deck that night we knew we had set the tone for the type of meet we wanted to have and it was just a snowball effect from there.

The next day we kept rolling.  The 400 IM, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, and 100 fly showed our depth and drive to always compete and do our best.  This day was a "marathon" for some.  We had people competing in two individuals as well as relays at night and even with adversity staring us in the face we only continued to get stronger.  Remembering Big Cat Day made it seem like a breeze.  By the end of the second day the Nittany Lions had jumped Purdue by a staggering 50 points and there was still one last day to go.

Day three is the day of biggest hearts; it's the day of competitors and not for the weak.  It was our day.  With tiredness and tightness beginning to creep upon us we knew that there were two options.  We could fall to the easy path and give up or we could fight and use the past four months to push through it.  On day three I think almost every person swam that night at finals.  The 100 free, 200 back, 200 fly, 200 breast and the 1650 proved to be no match.

As we all climbed back into the Fullington Bus and drove the five hours home after the meet there was a sense of excitement and determination.  The meet was over and we had swum faster than some of us ever had before but what separates us from other people is the fact that we want more.  Big Tens is right around the corner and to have seen such fast swimming now only makes February look that much better.  So as we come closer and closer to our goals and closer to the end of the season the excitement begins to build because if this meet was any indication for what is to come, I can't wait to be apart of it.

By Chelsea Howard, Sophomore Swimmer

As we get underway with our dual meet season, it's now more than ever that we rely on a competitive attitude. We've been doing new things in the pool and in the weight room to prepare us for these opportunities to get up and race.

 This week we are preparing to take on the University of Virginia and Indiana University. Last year, we traveled to Virginia for the tri-meet, battled tough, but came out short of a victory. This year, however, we are hosting these two teams in our own pool and are looking for a different result.

While traveling to another pool is always a unique opportunity and fun experience, there's something special about being a host team for a meet like this. We take away the hours of riding a bus and living out of a suit case for a few nights and focus our energy more on what's about to take place. No experience can amount to what it's like to run out of the locker room to "Zombie Nation", forming a jumping mob filled with indescribable energy, doing a cowbell cheer and then lining the side of the pool to cheer on our teammates and face our supportive fans in the stands. We are all excited to see what's to come and are looking forward to the weekend.

 Despite all of the events that have occurred in the media this past week, our team has come together and remembered what it really means to be a Penn Stater. We haven't lost our school pride, if anything it's stronger than before. Everyone involved with the athletic department has done an excellent job explaining the situation and has been open to helping anyone in need. They've reminded us to stay focused with our sport and class work and to avoid getting too caught up in the media. Several of us went to support the women's soccer team as they began the NCAA championship on Friday and then we went to the candle light vigil. It gave me chills to be a part of such a large movement, all in honor of the victims, and reminded me the outstanding community you are a part of when you become a Nittany Lion.