Last weekend, the No. 19 Penn State women's gymnastics team (6-9) had its best meet of the season with a high score of 195.800, defeating No. 23 Maryland and Rhode Island. Along with the victory, the team gained added confidence as it heads into the hardest parts of its season -- the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.

At 7 tomorrow night in Rec Hall, the team hopes to ride this momentum to another win when it takes on West Virginia University (15-5).

"Obviously, our win last week helped us tremendously," assistant coach Jessica Bastardi said. "We have worked on improving our consistency, since we had to count two falls last weekend and would like to avoid that again. We have focused on execution, changed some choreography, and have re-worked some skills, including harder dismounts. West Virginia is a very talented team, but we have to focus on our performances, and not think about them at all."

As usual, the Nittany Lions will rely heavily upon junior Katie Rowland, the Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week.

Rowland scored a 39.725 in the all-around last weekend, breaking the previous school record of 39.650, which she set last year. Rowland was the top scorer on each of the four events, scoring a 9.900 on bars, 9.950 on beam, 9.925 on floor, and 9.950 on vault, tying her school record. Rowland is ranked No. 4 in the all-around, No. 10 on vault, No. 13 on beam, and No. 16 on floor.

"Katie was fantastic last weekend for us," Bastardi said.

"However, she is first and foremost a team player, and wants to help the team hit more than anything. She is extremely consistent, and if she can use that to inspire the team and help build their confidence, then that will be her ultimate goal."

In addition to Rowland, juniors Leslie Bair, Lisa Campagnolo and Katie McAvoy are expected to continue their strong leadership for the squad. McAvoy is currently No. 24 in the nation on the uneven bars, and Bair and Campagnolo have contributed high scores on beam, bars and vault. West Virginia is counting on a strong performance from senior Kristen Macrie to lead them to the top. Macrie is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation, and has captured four all-around titles this season.

The Mountaineers will also utilize junior TeShawne Jackson, No. 12 in the nation on vault, and freshman and former international standout Carri Nagle.

Nagle qualified to the U.S. National Championships three times and represented the U.S. internationally in the 1998 International Team Championships, and the 1997 Junior Pacific Alliance Championships.

The Mountaineers defeated Central Michigan last week by a score of 194.550-194.475. The team's high score of the season is a 195.975.

Besides the obvious thrill of competing at home, tomorrow night will be bittersweet for the team since it is Senior Night and the last dual meet of the season with the men's team.

"Vera (Weiss) is our only senior so all of our emotion will be focused upon her," Bastardi said.

"We are hosting regionals the first weekend of April so that takes some of the emotion off, but we still have lots of fun with the guys and it will undoubtedly be a very emotional night for everyone."