For four years, the six senior members of the Penn State men's gymnastics team hadn't lost a meet at Rec Hall.

Then, on Feb. 3 the Michigan Wolverines, at the time ranked No. 1 in the country, came in and abruptly ended that streak.

So when the Nittany Lions take to the Rec Hall floor for one last dual meet Sunday at 2 against Michigan State, they'll have one goal in mind: go out on top.

"For the seniors this will be an emotional meet," Rob Saliski said. "I've been trying not to look back, but when you come to this point you can't really help it. Obviously, we want to win."

The No. 9 Nittany Lions finished third two weekends ago at the Southwest Cup in Tempe, Ariz. Top ranked Oklahoma finished first, while the No. 6 Spartans were second. They edged Penn State by just two points, and Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson hopes his squad's sharper routines will yield higher scores.

"These past two weeks of practice have allowed us to get the routines down," he said. "Guys should be more confident with what they have to do."

Michigan State, not usually known as a Big Ten powerhouse in gymnastics, brings a well-rounded squad to Happy Valley. Despite losses to Minnesota and Ohio State in dual meets earlier this season, Jepson said this is the best Michigan State team he has seen in 20 years.

"They are really solid top to bottom," Jepson said. "Usually they have one weak event and this year there are none."

In a meet last weekend, the Spartans defeated No. 2 Michigan and No. 7 Iowa with a season high score of 214.450.

Junior Jonathon Plante, No. 4 in the all-around competition, is also top in the country for the third straight week in the pommel horse.

For the Lions, Chris Lakeman is currently second in the country on rings. Kevin Donohue could return on floor and vault this weekend after sitting out the past three meets with a hurt ankle. He is ranked in the top ten on both events.

Michigan State faces Michigan in a dual meet tonight, which may affect their line-up for Sunday.

"Depending on what they do (tonight), we might see some new guys in certain events," Jepson said. "Right now, it's a real game trying to get guys healthy and in shape. Our main goal is to get through the weekend and be ready for Big Tens."

Penn State hosts the Big Ten Championships on March 23-24, a meet that will feature seven of the top ten teams in the country and be a preview of what to expect at nationals.

But the Penn State senior gymnasts aren't looking too far ahead.

"We've worked too hard for too long to look past this meet," Saliski said. "Sure we know we have some big meets coming, but it's important to hit routines this week and get some momentum."

Jepson thinks that consistency is what separates his team from the top-scoring teams in the Big Ten.

"We don't have the numbers we need to have if we want to win at Big Tens or NCAAs," he said.

For a team with so much experience, that shouldn't be a problem.

"We know what we have to do," Lakeman said. "We've been around long enough."