Ann Arbor, Mich.., February 27, 2003 - After the first full day of competition, the No. 17 ranked Penn State Men¡¯s Swimming and Diving team stands in fifth place at the Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The quartet of Todd Minnier (Avon Lake, Ohio), Eugene Botes (Thorton, Pa.), John Lutz (Hershey, Pa.), Daryl Northrop (Verona, N.J.) placed third in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:19.89.

Matt Haupt (Carlisle, Pa.), Minnier, and Botes were other top ten individual scorers on the first day of competition for the Nittany Lions. Haupt took home an eighth place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:49.13. In the 50 Freestyle, Minnier and Botes came up strong with fourth and fifth place finishes with times of 0:23.20 and 0:23.29, respectively.

Head Coach Bill Dorenkott stated "We had a solid first day of racing and we will continue to build on that first day effort."

Tomorrow¡¯s preliminary heats will begin at 12:00 p.m., while the finals start at 8:00 p.m. Live results will be available on www.GOPSUsports.com throughout the competition.