Although the women's gymnastics team scored a 189.65 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference championship Friday night at George Washington, it did not perform up to its potential.

"We were almost expected to win," assistant coach Steve Shephard said. "Most athletes do better when something is at stake, something to make them perform better."

The A-10 title was as stake, but it was as if the Lady Lions had earned it before the meet had even started.

Going into the competition, top-seeded Penn State, ranked No. 12 nationally, had won the A-10 eight times -- every year since its beginning in 1983. Statistics showed that Penn State was favored to win again.

The No. 2 seed West Virginia was ranked No. 25 with an average score in the 186 range, while the other teams were all ranked below No. 30 nationally.

"There was more pressure because it was the last meet in the A-10," Allison Barber said. ''We needed to win and we wanted to do well to show the other teams how hard we've worked this season."

"The other teams performed fairly well," Shephard said.

West Virginia took second place with a 186.55; Massachusetts and George Washington tied for third with a 185.25; Rhode Island scored a 182.85 for fifth; Rutgers scored a 178.3 for sixth, and Temple came in last with a 116.45.

On the vault, Barber took first with a 9.85, and Lajuanda Moody of West Virginia took second with a 9.8. Lynn Crane took third with a 9.7 and tied her career high. April Polito scored a 9.65, Coby Silver a 9.55, Rene Lyst a 9.3 and Paula Bright a 9.15.

The Lady Lions swept on the uneven bars. Kira Rohm took first with a 9.75, Crane was second with a 9.6, and Polito took third with a 9.55. Barber scored a 9.45, Laurie Russo a 9.4 and Jada Hiltabrand a 9.35.

But Penn State didn't fare as well on the balance beam. Tammy Marshall of Massachusetts won the event with a 9.7, and Moody took second with a 9.6. Sandra Mitchell of Temple and Lisa Geczik of George Washington tied for third with a 9.45.

Polito scored a 9.35 and Marianne Kreisher a 9.3. Barber and Lyst both scored a 9.15, Russo an 8.95 and Crane an 8.9.

Russo and Crane both fell off the beam while Barber and Lyst missed their mounts.

"Crane was up first and fell off," Shephard said. "She's usually our steady-eddie. Her fall shocked everybody and put more pressure on them. They weren't focused and made a lot of small errors."

The Lady Lions redeemed their scores on the floor exercise. Moody took first with a 9.75, but Bright tied for second with Susie Pierce of West Virginia, Marshall and Nikki Bronner of George Washington with a 9.65.

Barber and Hiltabrand both scored a 9.6, while Janice Rogers, Lyst and Crane all scored a 9.55.

In the all-around, Moody tied Marshall for first with a 38.3. Barber took third with a 38.05.

"Overall my performance was mediocre," Barber said. "I was most disappointed with my beam, but I stuck another vault and improved on my bars."

"I think our expectations will be higher in terms of what we have to do in the gym," she said. "We can't assume that we'll hit six out of six."

In a pre-competition banquet, Judi Avener was named Coach of the Year and Barber was named Gymnast of the Year. Three gymnasts were named to the all-conference team: Barber on the vault, Rohm on the bars and Barber and Bright, who tied for second, on the floor.