It's a matter of hunger. As far as ambition goes, the five freshmen gymnasts don't want to miss a routine. As far as dinner goes, they don't want to miss their evening meal.

With daily practices at the White Building ending right before 6:30 p.m., the freshmen must hurry if they want to get to Simmons Dining Hall before it closes.

"The first semester they closed the doors and we had to knock on the door, or sneak in or something like that," Tom Ellefson said. "But the girl that's at the front that runs the cards through -- she knows us now. She knows to keep the door open until we get there."

The freshmen have made their presence known in the gym as well as in the dining hall. So far this season, the young team members have trained hard and performed solid routines.

"They don't know that they're not supposed to do this well when they're young -- so why limit them?" Coach Randy Jepson said.

Without boundaries to restrain them, the freshmen are aiming high. Both Ellefson and J.M. Michel made the individual finals on the high bar at the West Point Open on Jan. 7-8. During the same meet, Josh Turner performed well on the vault and Tyson Bryant had a solid high bar routine. In last Saturday's meet against Temple, Joe Roemer led the competition on the floor exercise, scoring a 9.5.

The early success of the young team members has pushed the upperclassmen to work harder.

"No upperclassman wants a new freshman to go out and beat him," Ellefson said. "So I think having us come in and putting together a strong showing at meets is really helping the team out a lot."

Because of this strong showing, junior Dave Riordan has felt pressure to hit his routines and strengthen his weaker events.

"I've never wanted to do high bar in my life," he said. "I've hated high bar, but now I want to do it because they're all doing so well on it."

At first glance, it may have looked like this season would be one of development for the gymnasts. After graduating Mike Masucci, Rich Briggs and Doug Wilson and gaining five freshmen, it appeared that this young team would need time to grow.

"According to upperclassmen, the freshmen are one of the hardest working freshmen that they've ever seen," Turner said. "I know we're young, but I think we're going to hold our own."

After competing as part of different club programs where they concentrated on their individual scores, the freshmen have adjusted quickly to being part of a team.

"You know when you go out there that you're doing it for the whole team, not just yourself, and they're depending on you," Bryant said.

That bond has developed into a relationship that goes beyond the four gym walls -- all of the gymnasts have become good friends.

"(We) just watch movies a lot together, especially before meets, or we go out to dinner with the team," Bryant said. "It's just kind of a camaraderie thing. It makes you feel really close."

Besides being friends with the upperclassmen, the freshmen also admire them.

Watching captain Jim Delaney and junior Mark Cooper perform gives Roemer something to shoot for.

"We see them competing big tricks and we just want to obtain their level," Roemer said.

Through months of practicing, the freshmen have enhanced their levels of skill -- just in time for the first meet. For Michel, the season opener was an experience of firsts.

It was his first time performing at Rec Hall. It was the first competition of his college gymnastics career.

And Michel was the first competitor.

He remembers the last-minute advice he received from his coach: the first competitor of the first meet predicts the season, Jepson explained.

"I was pretty nervous," Michel said. "I remember shaking as I got on the floor."

So far, Jepson's prediction seems to be right on target. Michel scored a 9.05 on his first event -- the floor exercise -- and the Lions have gained a large appetite for victory . . . not to mention dinner.