Gymwomen travel to OSU

The Penn State women's gymnastics team's trouble on the beam was amplified two weeks ago against West Virginia. The Lady Lions, though, thought they solved the mystery on the apparatus before last weekend's Cat Classic, but disaster struck again as they counted four falls.

This sets the stage for Penn State's meet against Big Ten rival Ohio State (5-3) at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes, like the Lady Lions, have a few impressive underclassmen of their own.

Sophomores Susan Eckman, Mindi Farmer and Kelly Harper have been key contributors to the team, Ohio State coach Larry Cox said. Although the team has sustained some falls in meets, Cox feels it is on the right track.

"They're definitely stronger than they were last year," he said. "I think they are doing really well for a young team."

Lady Lion coach Steve Shephard emphasized his team's focus on beam and said it is determined to fix the problem.

"We've been working really hard this week, especially on beam," he said. "I think they are frustrated because they believe they have not performed up to their capability."

According to Lady Lion senior Bea Selz, the last few days in the gym have been intense. Selz said the team has made a commitment to step it up in their routines.

"It's been a little bit of a roller coaster. We were down after the last meet," she said. "We know we have a lot of work to do. I guess you could say we have focused in the gym."

The team's Tuesday workout was proof of their intensity. Sophomore Janae Whittaker said the team had a hard practice, staying until 7 p.m. on beam, trying to hit each of routine.

The Lady Lions will get an added boost on bars this weekend as freshman Nikki Smith returns to the lineup. She is excited to participate in the meet and said it was hard being sidelined with the injury and only being able to watch her teammates compete.

Smith has only been training three days for the competition, but she is optimistic. Smith feels she is at 95 percent on bars and believes her knee will hold up during her routine.

"That won't make a difference because I think I will hit it like I did before," she said.

Shephard said junior Joanna Knox is continuing to improve, and freshman Heather Duggan has been allowed to do a few things in practice. He said Duggan will be brought along slowly and, in another couple weeks, may be inserted into the lineup.

The goal for this meet is like any other, Shephard said, is to hit their routines.

"If we hit our routines whatever happens, happens. There's nothing to it. You do the best you can," he said. "And that is difficult. There's no defense to hide your mistakes. There's no offense to hide your mistakes. It's you versus the equipment. That's what we have to prepare them for."

Although the importance of the competition is not solely beating Ohio State, Selz said it will show the Lady Lions where they stand. She added the team is more concerned about its region.

Smith said confidence is a major factor the Lady Lions want to establish in this meet. She echoed the sentiments of her coach, mentioning that hitting routines on every event and not counting falls is of major importance. If they do these things, Smith feels her team has a good chance of winning.

"Ohio State is a good team, but we feel we could beat them if we stay on beam," Smith said. "It's really important because we want to show them that we are going to regionals and nationals and make a good showing at Big Tens."