UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Feb. 21, 2006 - The Penn State men¡¯s swimming and diving team travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the 2006 Big Ten Men¡¯s Swimming and Diving Championships. Indiana University will play host to the 95th annual Big Ten Men¡¯s Swimming and Diving Championship. The men finished eighth at last year¡¯s Big Ten Championships.

The latest CSCAA poll from Feb. 9, 2006 ranks Michigan 7th, Minnesota 9th, Indiana 11th, Purdue 14th and Northwestern 15th. Ohio State and Penn State round out the standings ranked 18th and 24th, respectively. The Nittany Lions head into competition with a 10-5 overall record and a 1-1 Big Ten record.

Senior Adam Pierce (Conroe, Texas) garnered Big Ten Diver of the Week accolades five times during the 2005-06 season. During the 2004-2005 season Pierce excelled, winning 12th and 9th place at the Big Ten Championships in the 1- and 3-meter diving events, respectively. Senior Chris Ippoliti (Berwyn, Pa.) was named Big Ten Co-Swimmer of the week on Nov. 29, 2005 for his first place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:55.08. The senior swimmer also led his 200 Medley Relay team to victory, finishing in 1:32.48.

Five Penn State relay teams are ranked in the top 10 of conference events while sophomore Sean Biedermann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and freshman Patrick Schirk (Pottstown, Pa.) are ranked 9th and 10th in the 400-yard IM and 200 Backstroke, respectively.

Preliminary competition begins Thursday, Feb. 23 at noon in the Counsilman- Billingsley Aquatic Center. Finals competition begins at 7 p.m. Competition will continue through Saturday, Feb. 25 with the last round of competition beginning at 7 p.m.

For a complete schedule of events and a link to live results or for more information on Penn State men¡¯s swimming and diving, please visit Penn State¡¯s official athletic Web site at www.GoPSUsports.com.