There will be no top team coming to Rec Hall to face the women's gymnastics team this weekend. No Georgia, no Utah.

Just 11 Lady Lions in a practice gym.

No. 6 Penn State (1-2), the nation's best sub-.500 team, will not compete this weekend -- but the gymnasts are not expecting a great deal of rest and relaxation.

Senior tri-captain Jada Hiltabrand said the Lady Lions are not letting up on their rigorous practice schedule, but are looking forward to working without the pressure of a meet.

"We've had three hard meets," she added. "It's a good time to take a weekend off."

Coach Judi Avener was also happy to have a weekend before traveling to a two-day meet, the Cat Classic in Columbia, Mo., on Feb. 7-8.

"We would like to win that and it's kind of a grudge match for us because we won it six years in a row and then we lost it the last three years we were there," Avener said.

The coach said that the Lady Lions are ahead of their normal early-season schedule -- thanks mainly to a rigorous early-season schedule which included losses to No. 1 Utah and No. 2 Georgia, and a road win over Towson State.

"We're ahead of the game," Avener said, "ahead of where we normally are at this point in the season."

"I remember for the last three years we would take a look back (at this point in the season)," Hiltabrand added. "A lot of times (our goal) would be to be more consistent."

But this year, Penn State has the consistency in its routines. Now it just has to add more difficulty.

Especially in the vault, where the Lady Lions have registered their lowest event scores this season.

"We're going into the meet two or three points behind," Janice Rogers said. "Once we get the vaults people are going to be really surprised. They're going to see a major difference."

"We need to go back and take these two weeks to work a little bit more difficulty and sharpen up our vaults," Avener added.

Hiltabrand said the six vaulters -- Allison Barber, Rogers, Rene Lyst, Tracy Kerner, Laurie Russo and Karen Cimochowski -- have been "practicing extra and staying late" in order to improve.

Those vaulters have had to make up for the absence of sophomore April Polito. Polito was an All-American on the vault last year, finishing fourth in the nation. The Pittsburgh native is recovering from a foot injury.

In addition, sophomore Coby Silver and freshman Jamie Raines are not yet ready to compete.

"We definitely need April, being an All-American -- and the other two have great vaults, too," Rogers said.

"It's going to help to push the rest of us (when they come back)," Hiltabrand said. "Right now we are lacking in depth."