She has spent half of her life high above the ground, stumbling, flipping twisting and stretching along a four-inch wide piece of wood.

And the funniest part: Rene Lyst is afraid of heights.

This is a gymnast who has spent her entire life perfecting an event where falling from heights is often the norm.

"I think I try to pretend I'm on the floor," she admitted.

Lately, however, the senior co-captain has avoided the floor and has anchored the Lady Lions' much-improved beam team. Her routine, initiated with a full-split mount, has drawn wows from crowds and respect from judges and opposing coaches.

But not too long ago, Lyst had grown accustomed to the feel of the mat as she slipped and tumbled off the beam time and time again. Mired in the worst slump of her career last season, she began to doubt herself and her abilities.

It led to one of the worst performances of her career at last year's NCAA Championships.

"I think I lacked a little motivation and desire," Lyst said. "I remember feeling, 'I can't wait until this season's over because I only have one more.' "

To add insult to injury, that two-fall performance was nationally televised on CBS.

"I remember people calling my house and saying I was on TV," she recalled with a smile. "I'd say 'No, it wasn't me -- really.' "

The Annapolis, Md., native can smile when she looks back at the roller-coaster career she has endured, because it is ending at a pinnacle. Lyst is performing "the best gymnastics of her career," according to Coach Steve Shephard, going into this weekend's NCAA Championships at Oregon State.

It didn't begin that way.

"There were four freshmen --the three of them (including fellow co-captain Allison Barber) and me," Lyst said. "I didn't get along with them and they didn't get along so well with me . . . It was interesting, to say the least."

Lyst instead turned to teammate Janice Rogers for companionship, and the two formed a close bond. "Janice was a very hard worker and that helped me a lot," she said. "She was totally committed and dedicated to the team."

Slowly, Lyst began to fit in to the team concept, and midway through her sophomore season, she hit a pinnacle that no Penn State gymnast had ever achieved -- a 9.9 on beam.

"That was probably my best year here as far as the dedication and the drive because everything was totally new," she said.

That season marked a renewed attitude for the Lady Lions, and Lyst hoped to carry the attitude into last season. Instead, she was struck with a "junior jinx"-- midway through the year, she was removed from the lineup completely.

"It was a constant battle with myself and with the coaches' trust," she said. "I felt like they lost confidence in me, but they had valid reason to."

"I think mainly it was communication and learning how to communicate her own feelings and her own needs effectively," Shephard added.

Through a renewed sense of confidence and a greater amount of communication, Lyst was able to leap back onto the beam -- and finally stay on. And this season, she has taken on an even greater role as a regular on the floor exercise and vault.

Earlier this year, Lyst scored another 9.9 on beam at the same place where she captured the first one -- Ohio State's St. John Arena.

"When I scored a 9.9 again, that was good for me in the fact that I wasn't sure that I could do it again," she said. "That made me feel really good about the hard work I put in."

Lyst and Barber -- who, by the way, have mended fences since that freshman campaign -- will lead the Lady Lions into this weekend's NCAAs.

"She's a leader by example and through her relationships," Shephard said. "I think Rene has a really strong relationship will all the team members on an interpersonal level."

Currently, Lyst resides with juniors April Polito and Coby Silver -- and Polito can relate to Lyst's freshman tribulations.

"When I came up on my recruiting trip, she was the only one that liked me out of the team," Polito laughed. "We just hit it off right from the start."

While Polito looks up to her roommate as a leader, she also sees a different side of this 22-year-old international politics major, who will receive her degree in May.

"She is like a little kid -- she loves Disney movies and stuff like that," Polito said. "She is a kid at heart."

And while Lyst still may be afraid of heights, the rest of her fears have been shed.

"You can tell when she walks in the gym that she's not afraid anymore," Polito said. "She's totally grown in that sense."