As a 9.75 flashed on the scoreboard, the Rec Hall crowd stood and cheered. Lynn Crane had just broken the Penn State record for the uneven bars which had stood for 12 years.

But what made the event so special for Crane was that her roommate, best friend and teammate Kira Rohm had tied the record less than five minutes before with a 9.7.

Going into the rotation, the Lady Lions led Pitt by only three-tenths of a point. After the bars, the team enlarged its lead to two points and went on to a narrow 1.25-point victory.

Rohm overcame a confidence problem and Crane overcame an injury to put in their best performances of the season.

"Mostly for me it had been a confidence problem," Rohm said. "I'd been having trouble with the first part of my routine, the mount, the half-pirouette into the geinger. I added a few more tricks in the beginning, but we decided that wasn't working and switched around to basically the same routine I was doing last year."

For Crane, it was a great ending to a tough three weeks. She had hurt her ankle during the Cat Classic in Arizona and had missed the Lady Lions last two meets. "I was so excited to get back in and compete," Crane said. "It was terrible missing the (IUP/North Carolina) meet in Rec Hall."

Both gymnasts stressed the importance of how one good performance helps the next gymnasts.

"It just shows how when your teammate goes up and hits what it does for yourself," Rohm said. "I saw Kimmy (Kim Thrasher) go up and hit her routine and get a 9.5 and I said, 'I'm going to do that too.' "

"Kira hit her routine it made it easier for me," Crane agreed.

Now the Lady Lions head into the toughest part of their season as they travel south to face LSU and Florida in dual meets and Georgia and Alabama in a combined meet at Georgia. Both Rohm and Crane feel this weekend's performances will help them in the tough weeks to come.

"I definitely look at it as a confidence builder and with the stuff I've been practicing and doing so many repetitions, I know that's what I have to keep doing in order to stay at this level," Rohm said.

"We know we can get a 9.7 on our bar routine, we can do it, so why not do it all the time," Crane said.

Both feel endurance is the key to being a good bars performer and they work on that in practice along with their individual routines. Both gave credit to Assistant Coach Breck Greenwood, who puts together their routines.

The Lady Lions have had a rough season with inexperience and injuries but Rohm and Crane think the team is in the right frame of mind and looking forward to a successful finish.

"We've put everything behind us and are getting back into the swing of things," Crane said.

"Lynn back is a definite benefit because she is such a strong competitor," Rohm said. Crane's status for next week's all-around at LSU is uncertain but she will compete in some capacity.

Crane and Rohm say they benefit in competition from their close relationship by helping each other out.

"We know when the other is hurting and we know what to tell them, it's kind of weird," Crane said.

"We complement each other well," Rohm said. "I'll forget something and she'll remember, or she'll forget and I'll remember. It's scary how much we're alike."