He hoped to be a "six piece." Tomorrow gymnast Lee Ricketts will get his chance.

"I would envision him probably in as many as six events," Coach Randy Jepson said when Ricketts arrived in January.

Since joining the team, the Nottingham, England, native has been a welcome addition to the lineup. So far this season, he has competed on as many as five events, highlighted for Ricketts by a 9.65 on high bar on Mar. 4.

Tomorrow, Ricketts will add the final piece to his repertoire -- parallel bars.

"I'm really honored that Randy's picked me," Ricketts said. "It'll be the biggest (meet) since I've been at Penn State."

But competing in six events will not be foreign to the Englishman. As a member of the British National team, Ricketts is no stranger to the all-around. The Big Ten competition format will also be familiar to Ricketts -- he's done it before.

"This is more of the competition he's used to," Jepson said. "He's used to more tournament-type competition where he'd do all six pieces and march from one event to the next and just go right through without waiting for anyone."

That familiarity should help him boost the team score. But Ricketts also boosts team morale. The junior motivates his teammates and keeps them focused. Like several of his energetic teammates, Ricketts reinforces the power of confidence.

"He's kind of like another Brandy (Wood) or another Jim (Delaney)," teammate J.M. Michel said of Ricketts. "He knows that you can't just think about something, you have to really believe it."

However, there is another side of Ricketts that adds a dimension of humor to almost every activity. One of the first things that sophomores Tony Pansy and former teammate Joel Neuwirth noticed about the economics major was his ability to make others laugh. This ability comes from being a genuine "people person," junior Mark Cooper said.

"He comes across as a real funny kind of guy," Cooper added. "Everything that comes out of his mouth seems to be funny."

The combination of his outgoing personality and the receptiveness of his teammates has helped make the Brit feel at home. There could have been culture shock, there could have been transition problems -- but there wasn't. Ricketts is now one of the gang.

"The way I get treated has made it so easy to adjust," the 22-year-old said. "I love America."

Collegian Sports Writer B.J. Reyes contributed to this article.