In an elevator of Millbrae's Clarion Hotel, a woman wearing a tight pink tank top and short black skirt folded her arms nervously and muttered words of self-congratulations for having the courage to show up.

The doors opened to the third floor, and Ilene Kerness, an office manager from Santa Clara, found her way to the ballroom for a singles mixer with a twist. At 60, she was close to the average age of the women in the room. The majority of the men, however, were younger than 40.

This was the appeal for the crowd of about 250 younger men and older women — or "cougars" — who wanted to mingle Saturday night at the National Cub Convention.

In the ever-expanding lexicon of May-December romances, "cubs" are the youthful male counterparts to cougars, the women ages 40 and older with whom they are romantically involved.

"There is absolutely no romance in the lives of single, middle-aged women in America, because there is simply no one to date," event organizer Rich Gosse told the audience during his keynote address on the subject of why younger men are better.

In addition to better sex and higher energy, Gosse cited male mortality rates as a benefit of cubs, referring to census statistics that show men on average live five fewer years than women. He went on to suggest that there is an unlimited source of men in their 20s and 30s who are single because younger women are more interested in financial security than fun.

Although

she did not meet anyone special Saturday, Kerness agreed with many of Gosse's remarks, explaining that it's hard to get a man her age off the couch and out dancing or doing other activities she enjoys.

This was one of her first forays into dating since a battle with breast cancer that began in 2001. Having survived a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery and five years of remission, she attended the event because she is finally ready for a relationship and hopes to be engaged by the end of the year.

"I'm 26 in my head," she said. "I think young and I feel young."

Damon Bonner, 27, a mechanic from Modesto, didn't come with any expectations. He said he enjoys older women because they don't play games.

"It's not anything about them being older," he said. "It's that they're easier-going and more comfortable with themselves."

Jennifer Lemas, a 47-year-old human resources consultant from San Mateo, seemed to embody the free-spirited older woman many of the cubs said they were searching for. Dressed in a black ruffled outfit and ready to dance, she caught the eye of Andrew Baker, 25, of Menlo Park.

She played the age-guessing game with the baby-faced medical devices engineer, starting at 32 and then giggling amusedly as the number lowered.

"I like younger guys because they're young, energetic, interesting, open-minded and very cute," she said before the two danced off together.

Eugene Lee, 28, won the "Cutest Cub" contest, which the women in attendance decided in a landslide. His prize includes a free ride on the next cougar cruise.

"A cougar is a woman who is confident and who knows what she wants," Lee said.

The winner of Miss Cougar California, 51-year-old Melanie Garrett, said she loves cubs because of their physical shape and open-mindedness. Garrett, who regularly dates men as young as 23, is writing a book about becoming a cougar.

Sisters Eloise Beechinor, 57, and Margie Caicedo, 60, thought the Cub Convention would be a fun thing to do while Caicedo was visiting Beechinor in San Francisco from Washington. While the sisters were more interested in laughing with each other than dancing with the young men, they said they were game for whatever came along.

"I'm very impressed (with) how friendly they are," said Caicedo, who has been divorced for six years and barely dated in that time.

"You never know what could happen," Beechinor added.