With the Big Ten and NCAA Championships just around the corner, the members of the No. 1 men's gymnastics team are not in as good of shape as they would have hoped. Injuries continue to plague the team and will play a factor in tomorrow's meet against Army.

The Nittany Lions (13-1) are looking to come out of their final meet before next weekend's Big Ten Championships with a high level of confidence and most importantly: good health.

"It's the worst we've been all year," Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson said regarding his team's health heading into tomorrow's showdown. "You name it, just about everybody has something, so we're just going to have to take our time and be patient this weekend and try to get a little healthier."

The Lions will face No. 17 Army in their final home and regular season meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. It will be a double-dual meet with the women's team who will face West Virginia and can be seen on WPSX-TV. The seniors from both teams will be honored prior to the start of the competition.

The injury-plagued team will be without its lone senior, captain Adam Benas, who will most likely be sitting out due to a bad back suffered before last weekend's Navy meet. Several other Lions will also compete on fewer events than usual during tomorrow's meet to rest for Big Tens.

"The tough thing is that he's probably not going to compete because he has a bad back, so actually his last competition in Rec Hall was a month ago, so that will be bittersweet," Jepson said. "He was just excellent for us. It's so nice to be able to see guys through to the end...he'll be missed."

Replacing the injured Lions will not be as difficult as imagined because there is a strong group of underclassmen who are ready to step up to the challenge.

"I have a lot of confidence in the routines I do and I think no matter what position I am in, I am always capable of doing my best," freshman Adam Pierce said. "Whether I'm thrown in at the last second or I've been in the line-up the whole time, I know that I can do a great routine to help the team."

While they have several good gymnasts, the Black Knights will not be as difficult of an opponent as teams the Lions will face next weekend at Big Tens and two weekends from now at NCAAs. The Lions will still have to have confidence and focus on the task at hand.

Junior Kevin Donohue, who had been the No. 1 all-around gymnast for the past five weeks, will find his motivation from his new No. 3 seed.

"I never expected to be No. 1, but now that I was there, it's kind of like, ahh," Donohue said. "I checked the rankings and I said, 'I fell! I had my best meet! How did that happen?"

"I have that little extra bit of motivation now, so I'm looking to get back in the No. 1 spot."