UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Oct. 10, 2004) - The Penn State men's and women's swimming and diving teams will open their seasons 5 p.m. Thursday at West Virginia.

The dual meet with the Mountaineers will kick off a 2004-05 campaign in which the Nittany Lion women will face three-time defending national champion Auburn (Dec. 2-4), two-time defending ACC champion Virginia (Oct. 30) and defending Big Ten champion Michigan (Jan. 28-29).

Both teams will play host to the Cavaliers in their respective home openers Oct. 30 at McCoy Natatorium. The Penn State men and women will also play host to West Chester (Nov. 23) and Rutgers (Jan. 22). The men will close out their home slate against Ohio State (Feb. 4-5).

Both squads will also have away meets at St. Bonaventure (Nov. 19) and Miami (Jan. 5). The Nittany Lion women will also face Big Ten Champion Michigan, defending Big East champion Notre Dame and Indiana (Jan. 28-29) in Bloomington, Ind. The Penn State men also have a double-dual meet with Iowa and Missouri in Iowa City, Iowa (Jan. 28-29).

The Penn State women return a wealth of talent in the pool after narrowly missing its second Big Ten title in three years to wrap up the 2004 season.

The Penn State men have one of its top recruiting classes in years to help them improve on a seventh place finish at the 2004 Big Ten Championships.

Aside from two-time defending national champion Auburn, the Nittany Lion men will battle six-time defending ACC champion Virginia (Oct. 30) and PSAC champion West Chester (Nov. 23).

 WOMEN'S SCHEDULE 10/14 West Virginia University at Morgantown, West Virginia 5 p.m. 10/22 Intrasquad 4 p.m. 10/30 VIRGINIA 12 p.m. 11/19 St. Bonaventure at Olean, NY 4 p.m. 11/23 WEST CHESTER 3 p.m. 12/2-12/4 Auburn Invite at Auburn, Alabama All Day 12/26-1/9 Florida Training Trip at Naples, Florida All Day 1/1-1/9 UGA Diving Invitational at Athens, Georgia All Day 1/5 Univ. of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida 10 a.m. 1/22 RUTGERS 1 p.m. 1/28-1/29 Indiana/Notre Dame/Michigan at Bloomington, Indiana 6 p.m./9:30 a.m./3 p.m. 2/16-2/19 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships at Bloomington, Indiana 11 a.m./7 p.m. 2/25-2/27 ECAC Championship at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania All Day 3/10-3/12 NCAA Diving Zone Championships All Day 3/17-3/19 NCAA Championships at West Lafayette, Indiana 11 a.m./7 p.m. TBA U.S. Diving National Prequalification Championship TBA TBA U.S. Diving National Championship TBA TBA U.S. Diving National Championship TBA HOME EVENTS IN CAPS AND BOLD All Times Eastern MEN'S SCHEDULE 10/14 West Virginia University at Morgantown, West Virginia 5 p.m. 10/22 Intrasquad 4 p.m. 10/30 VIRGINIA 12 p.m. 11/19 St. Bonaventure at Olean, NY 4 p.m. 11/23 WEST CHESTER 3 p.m. 12/2-12/4 Auburn Invite at Auburn, Alabama All Day 12/26-1/9 Florida Training Trip at Naples, Florida All Day 1/1-1/9 UGA Diving Invitational at Athens, Georgia All Day 1/5 Univ. of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida 10 a.m. 1/22 RUTGERS 1 p.m. 1/28-1/29 Iowa/Missouri at Iowa City, Iowa 6 p.m./12:00 p.m. 2/4-2/5 OHIO STATE 6 p.m./12:00 p.m. 2/24-2/26 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships at Minneapolis, Minnesota 12 p.m./7 p.m. 3/3-3/5 America Short Course Championship at Austin, TX All Day 3/10-3/12 NCAA Diving Zone Championship All Day 3/24-3/26 NCAA Championships at Minneapolis, Minnesota 11 a.m./7 p.m. TBA U.S. Diving National Pre-qualification Championship TBA TBA U.S. Diving National Championship TBA TBA U.S. Swimming National Championship TBA HOME EVENTS IN CAPS AND BOLD All Times