With a delayed start last season due to the building of new training facilities and having to learn new rules, the men's gymnastics team did not have as great of a season as they hoped for.

Now, the team has had the full amount of training time, which should give the Nittany Lions an edge.

By having an entire off-season to train, the team was able to learn new skills and do different dismounts.

"Having the whole fall semester to train allowed us to do things we couldn't do last year. It will give us an advantage," head coach Randy Jepson said.

During the off-season, the team concentrated on strength training and skill development along with increasing the difficulty of the routines.

During this time, Jepson found the high bar to be the team's strongest event. He also said with time the team will be good on pommel horse and will be solid on vault and the parallel bars.

He also said the team needs to be more consistent on the floor exercise. The rings will also be a tough event for Penn State because of the loss of national rings champion, Chris Lakeman, along with three other gymnasts on the rings team to graduation.

"We have freshmen who will eventually be able to do good, but we can't make up for experience," Jepson said.

Experience is something the team will be lacking this season due to the addition of nine freshmen. Since the team is very young, the members will have to work extra hard to reach the top.

"We have a young team, so we are physically weak, but we've made pretty good strides," Jepson said.

With nine freshmen on the team, the upperclassmen, including senior and team captain Adam Benas, have to step up and be leaders.

"As captain, I have a big influence on how the team is run," Benas said. "I want to lead by example and show them I am capable of doing the things I was able to do before I was injuried."

Injuries have plagued the team during the past few months. Still feeling the effects of torn ligaments in his elbow from last season, senior Jose Palacios can only participate in the floor exercise because it does not involve much elbow movement. He hopes to fully return to competing within the next month.

"He is important in terms of success. He has made rapid progression," Jepson said. "He is taking it slow so he's ready when it counts."

Freshman Casey McIntyre will be redshirted this season after shattering his leg during October while doing the floor exercise. After having two plates and nine screws put in his leg, McIntyre will now undergo months of rehabilitation to get back into competitive form.

Despite the loss of their teammate, the rest of the Lions have found some inspiration in McIntyre's injury.

"He inspired me to give more effort because of everything he has had to overcome," Benas said. "He is doing awesome."

Because of the number of injuries, the abundance of freshmen has proven to be beneficial.

"Overall, because of injuries, we are not as deep as I'd like to be, but having so many freshmen helps because it gives us a little more breathing room," Jepson said.

The team will not have much breathing room in terms of their schedule though because they face a solid line-up of teams.

The schedule includes facing perennial powers, the University of Massachusetts and Temple and Big Ten schools such as Michigan, Illinois and defending national champions, Ohio State.

However, the team does not shun upon the schedule's difficulty.

"Going against tougher teams is good because it gives us more motivation and makes us perform better," junior Matt Abboud said.