FAIRFAX, Va. - Eight schools and 330 student-athletes will take to the water at the Jim McKay Natatorium this weekend as the 2007 Patriot Invitational takes place from Friday to Sunday. The event, hosted by the George Mason swimming and diving teams, will begin on Friday at 10 a.m. with the preliminaries, while the Friday finals are set to begin at 6 p.m.

Along with the Patriots, the teams from American, Georgetown, George Washington, Seton Hall, Shippensburg, UMBC, and UNC Wilmington will compete at the three-day event. Saturday's competition will follow the same schedule as Friday, while the Sunday prelims and finals will begin one hour earlier, at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.

In their last action, the Patriot men notched victories over Drexel and William & Mary in the CAA Pod Meet two weeks ago, while the women defeated Drexel and fell to W&M in the same competition.

In the Pod Meet, three Patriots recorded individual victories on Saturday, with senior Sarah Bizer winning in the 100-yard butterfly and sophomores Ryan David and Eric Knight grabbing wins in the 200-yard individual medley and breaststroke events, respectively. The Patriot women's 200-yard medley relay squad of sophomore Jessica Jacoby, sophomore Mary Beth Cheslock, Bizer and freshman Katie Planchak took home first place as well.

On Friday of the Pod Meet, Mason notched victories in seven different events, with two Patriots garnering double wins on the day. Senior Matt Kane won the 1650-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley, while sophomore Eric Knight swam to first place in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke. Other individual winners were sophomore Ryan David in the 100-yard backstroke, and senior Mallory Pucci with a win in the 200-yard butterfly. The Mason relay team of David, Knight, and sophomores Tad Ogren and Steven Benecki took first place in the 400 yard medley relay.

Admission for the Patriot Invitational is $5 for adults and $2 for youth and senior citizens.