Entering the third event, the Penn State women's gymnastics team found itself neck-and-neck with one of the top teams in the nation. Performing the best routines of their entire lives, the Penn State gymnasts showed more optimism and self-confidence than Tiger Woods in a pitch-and-putt tournament.

And then, disaster.

With the Big Ten Championships on the horizon, Penn State is confident that it will be able to finally put it all together and claim a conference championship.

To this point, Penn State has been unable to meld four successful events in the same meet.

In general, the team has been plagued by poor balance-beam performance, achieving a team score above 49.000 in only one meet. In that competition, Penn State's success on the beam was thwarted by an uncharacteristic breakdown on the uneven bars, resulting in a loss to Minnesota on March 8.

Just one week earlier against Nebraska, Penn State was trailing the then-No. 3 Cornhuskers halfway through the meet by only .150. After losing composure on the beam and floor exercises, Penn State found itself falling short of its potential.

Penn State's inconsistency was once again evident on March 15 in a quadrangular meet at Rec Hall. Holding a .225 advantage over a top-10 opponent, Florida, with two events remaining, Penn State stumbled like Mary Decker in the 1984 Olympics, ending any hope of victory. Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard believes that the team has a very good chance of winning the Big Ten Championships, which will be held March 29 in Champaign, Ill.

"We're the most underrated team in NCAA gymnastics, and we stack up extremely well with the rest of the Big Ten," Shephard said. "I think we're capable of winning the meet, and I'll be disappointed with anything less than that."

Currently ranked fifth of seven teams in the Big Ten, Penn State, with a team regional qualifying average of 195.375, holds a 1-1 conference record. When taking Penn State's season-high scores in each event and combining them, the team would compile a score of 197.550, which would more than boost it into the upper echelon of the Big Ten.

Last season, Penn State, with a score of 192.550, finished dead last in the competition, with Michigan winning the championship by scoring a 196.475.

Michigan is once again atop the leaderboard, with a team regional qualifying average of 196.745. Michigan women's gymnastics coach Beverly Plocki is hopeful in her team's chances at Big Ten success.

"With so much conference pride, the Big Ten Championships are a big deal," Plocki said. "There is a lot of good competition, and I am very optimistic that [Michigan] will perform well."

As the end of the season approaches, the Big Ten Championships would be the perfect time for Penn State to reach maximum success, said Penn State women's gymnastics assistant coach Jessica Bastardi.

"We keep saying that we have to put it all together, and there is no better time than in championship season for this to happen," Bastardi said.