Iowa's men's gymnastics team is trying to turn its home floor into something it has never been when it has faced Penn State -- an advantage.

Although the Hawkeyes finished 9-5 and 10th in the nation last year, they have never beaten the Lions at home. Their only win, two years ago, was in Rec Hall.

The two teams will square off at 7 tonight in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The Lions will be looking to add to their winning streak, while the Hawkeyes will be trying to end it.

"They've just about had it with us," Coach Karl Schier said. "It's going to be hard to get by this one."

The Lions' highest score of the season came last week when they posted a 274.45. Schier said Iowa's high score was a 271 in its home opener last weekend.

On paper it may seem that the Lions have the advantage, but Iowa boasts a team of 18 gymnasts and will be coming at Penn State full force.

"It's going to come down to whoever hits," captain Mark Sohn said. "It can go either way. It's going to be that close of a meet. It's going to bring out the best of these guys."

For the Lions, this is indeed the first real test of the 1990 season. Iowa's squad is led by all-arounder Jeff Dow, a former member of the U.S. National Team as well as a former national champion on the high bar. Earlier in the season, Dow finished second in the all-around in the 11 squad Windy City Invitational, Jan. 19 in Chicago.

Despite the obstacles in front of them, the Lions remain optimistic. Last week, with major routine breaks on both parallel bars and high bar, the team still upped its score by three points.

"I like this meet," freshman Mike Masucci said. "I like to compete against good teams. It puts more pressure on you. I think we need the pressure meets right now. We need to get going."

Schier said duplicating the 274 of one week ago on an away floor would be positive for the Lions. But the gymnasts believe that score can go even higher.

"I think we've licked a lot of problems that have bothered us on (parallel bars and high bar)," Sohn said. "If those two events do well, and the other two events keep the consistency they have been, I can see us legitimately going 276 or 278."

Masucci and sophomore Wayne Cowden have been the mainstays for the Lions in the all-around. Last week, Cowden scored a career-high 56.60 while Masucci, despite a break on the high bar, tallied a 55.35.

Schier said that in the past Dow has been the better gymnast. But this year could be a different story.

"Who knows about this year because our guys are getting better," he said. "Wayne's score is one of the higher all-around scores in the country. I've only seen one low 57 and a 56.6 isn't far off. There aren't too many people squeezed in-between either."

Although Schier contends that he isn't sure if the team will come home with a win, he has been pleased with the progress to date. So far, he has "predicted" the score for both of the Lions' meets. That is, he's wished for a score, and each time, his team has delivered.

"We're on track for this time of the season," Schier said. "I don't know if we're on track for Iowa. We won't know until we actually see them. Everything so far is working out sort of the way we've planned.

"Eventually, we'll be in the high 270s, then we'll be a formidable team."