After a disappointing overall team performance at the West Point Open, the Penn State men's gymnastics team was looking for someone to step up. And someone did -- the team.

The No. 4 Nittany Lions took first place on each event on their way to a convincing Navy Open title Saturday afternoon. The Lions finished with a team score of 217.25, nine points higher than last week's West Point Open victory. William & Mary finished second with a score of 199.65 and Navy third with a score of 193.60.

"We hit our routines this weekend and that made a huge difference," Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson said. "The guys benefited from practice all week and showed a little more confidence."

Junior Kevin Donohue led the Lions after finishing first in the individual all-around with a season-high score of 54.45. In addition to his all-around title, Donohue placed first in the vault (9.45) and the high bar (9.65).

"I was really disappointed last week because I was hitting nothing, but I came out with nothing to lose and put up some big scores to help the team," Donohue said.

Donohue's strong performance is the kind of experience that Jepson counts on during meets.

"Kevin was solid," Jepson said. "He fought through some routines and was excellent on the high bar, vault and floor exercise."

Following Donohue in the individual all-around was freshman phenom Luis Vargas. Vargas placed second with a score of 53.65 and added season highs on all events except the vault and the high bar. On the pommel horse, an area that the Lions struggled in at the West Point Open and practiced on all week, Vargas scored a 9.55 to lead them to a first-place finish with a score of 36.80.

"Our performance on the pommel horse was much better this weekend," Jepson said. "It was one of the best team performances that I have seen in a few years."

Besides the strong individual performances by Donohue and Vargas, the Lions finished one, two, three on the floor, parallel bars, pommel horse and high bar with the Lions' young gymnasts stepping it up. Sophomore Steve Tobin finished first on the floor exercise with a score of 9.20, while freshman Chad Buczek took first on the rings with a score of 9.25.

With their dominating routines at the Navy Open, the Lions are ready for the Big Ten season opener against Michigan, but they feel that they can improve even more.

"Putting up 217 was huge, but we know we can score higher," Donohue said. "It's a definite confidence builder going into the Michigan meet."