Although there were no elephants, flying trapeze artists or clown cars, the women's quadmeet on Saturday was like a four-ring circus. Twenty-four gymasts paraded around Rec Hall and performed gravity-defying feats.

"There is always action going on," New Hampshire gymnast Jana Reardon said.

Unlike dual meets, all four teams have gymansts competing at the same time instead of each one separately. Also, the addition of two teams makes consistent performance even more important.

West Virginia gymnast Kristin Quakenbush added that quadmeets are different from duals because of "the more intense competiton between the teams."

For the gymnasts and coaches, keeping track of other teams is virtually impossible because there are no breaks in the teams' performances. The coaches are also solely concentrating on their own gymnasts.

"From a coaches standpoint, there is too much to watch." West Virginia Coach Linda Burdette said. "It is really chaotic."

Although there is chaos, quadmeets can also work to the advantage of the athletes. It is a valuable experience because regionals and NCAA finals are the same format.

"It tends to be more distracting for the athletes," Penn State Coach Steve Shephard said. "But it is very good training."

The gymnasts respond differently to the format, but most agreed that a quadmeet situation is beneficial in preparing for regionals. Even the Lady Lions said they believe it has impacted their training.

"It was a 100 percent learning experience," Lady Lion Tracy Kerner said.

With the noise and activity, the gymnasts have to hone their concentration skills. Because the focus is not on how other schools are doing, team performance becomes even more important.

"We try to focus on our own team," Minnesota gymnast Kristen Vandersall said. "We use it to pump each other up."

For all the athletes, especially the Lady Lions, the Rec Hall crowd makes the experience even more enjoyable. Kerner claimed that the Rec Hall crowd was No. 1 and Mountaineers' Coach Burdette confirmed her opinion.

"We like the crowd here because the fans like gymnastics," she said. "You do a good routine and the fans let you know."