If women's gymnastics only contained three events, Penn State would have beaten Ohio State last weekend in Columbus.

But that's not the case.

Had it not been for the vault and an injury to Nikki Bongiovanni, causing the Nittany Lions to only have five gymnasts compete in the event, Penn State may have scored higher than a 48.075 in the event.

Despite the loss against the No. 16 team in the nation, the No. 15 Penn State women's gymnastics team's confidence remains unwavered going into its match up against Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Rec Hall.

"I think it helped motivate them," said Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard, in response to the team's reaction to its loss. "They don't want to feel that way anymore. They don't like to lose. I think it helped them kick it up a notch and work that much harder."

Penn State enters the dual meet with a 2-1 record. Pittsburgh will come to Happy Valley with a 1-1 record, fresh off a loss to New Hampshire last weekend. Penn State beat the Wildcats at home Jan. 20 by a score of 194.075-192.150.

Penn State leads the overall series with the Panthers 33-1.

If gymnasts like Katie Rowland keep performing at their best, Penn State hopes to add one more notch in the win column. Rowland brought home three first-place finishes last weekend on the beam (9.850), the floor (9.875) and tied Ohio State's Jill Tucker on vault with a 9.875. Rowland won the all-around with a 39.450, her career best.

The talent doesn't stop with Rowland however. Penn State has a very diverse team with the likes of Taylor, senior Gemma Cuff, sophomore Katie McAvoy and freshman Richelle Simpson.

Taylor has been consistent on bars, scoring a 9.9 against Ohio State, garnering her a first-place showing against the Buckeyes. Cuff's score of a 39.025 grabbed her a tie for third place in the all-around last week with her teammate Katie McAvoy. McAvoy finished in second place on floor with a 9.850 tying Simpson.

The women's team will have more than just raw talent on its side going into the meet this weekend. They will also have the support of their male counterparts.

While the women compete against Pittsburgh, the No. 6 Penn State men's gymnastics team will compete against No. 1 Michigan.

"It's a good atmosphere for us," Taylor said. "That's how we train. The guys are always there. And it's good. We get their support and they get ours."

And with the support from each other and the fans in Rec Hall, both the women's and men's teams will be looking for victory tomorrow night.

And they will be looking to put into the meet what they've worked on at practice.

"We know we can hit on each event," junior Nikki Bongiovanni said. "It's just a matter of putting it all together at one meet. And we haven't done that yet.

"We just need to make sure we go out there and do the same thing we do in practice."