On Monday, Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Jepson mapped out the rest of the season for his team on the chalkboard with the two biggest meets, the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships, standing out among everything else.

With the cancellation of the meet against the Spanish National Team this weekend, the Nittany Lions have two weeks to practice, rest and prepare for the meet that they have been working towards all season, and this couldn't have come at better time.

The Lions are ranked No. 2 in the country behind Oklahoma University and have never dropped below that ranking all year. In their last home meet of the season against Army, the Lions scored a season-high 221.525 while senior Kevin Donohue posted a career high 55.375 in the all-around competition. It was also Donohue's fifth straight all-around title. Freshman Luis Vargas has been consistently finishing second behind Donohue all season and junior Kevin Tan has only been defeated once on rings this year. Even with the consistent finishes by these three Lions week after week, the majority of their team success has come from others stepping up in meets and performing at a high level.

"We knew entering this season we would have a very capable squad," Jepson said. "The thing that I am pleased about is with some of the injuries we have, others have been able to step up and keep the level high and that is the key that you have guys able to do that."

The solid team performances this season have led the Lions to top-five rankings in every event in the country with a No. 1 ranking on the parallel bars and No. 2 rankings on the pommel horse, rings and high bar. Jepson said he sometimes thinks where his team would be if it had the other gymnasts back in the lineup and healthy.

The consistency and success of the veterans have not only provided big scores for the Lions, but has also helped bring the team together.

"When the team has faith in guys like Donohue, Palacios, Tan and Vargas to score big in events, the rest of the team begins to have faith in themselves during competitions," senior Duke Van Vleet said.

Van Vleet, who is redshirting this season because of a torn pectoral muscle, added that the chemistry of this year's team reminds him of the 2000 squad that captured the National Championship and Jepson also sees his team coming together.

"This team is starting to believe in itself and it is really going to be a key for us to win," he said. "They have to believe that they can do it."

Although disappointed with the cancellation of the Spanish National Team meet, the team believes the rest can only help it down the road.

"With such a long season, the week off is beneficial and gives the guys time to rest and prepare for Big Ten and NCAA Championships," Van Vleet said.