Throughout the 2003 season, senior women's gymnast Katie Rowland garnered the spotlight in the all-around competition for the Penn State women's gymnastics team.

However, this past weekend at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, teammate Katie McAvoy took over the limelight in the all-around competition by placing fourth with a 39.425.

"She did a great job," Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard said. "She hit four-for-four and qualified for nationals and had an opportunity to end her career on a really positive note in light of the team not qualifying."

With Rowland, the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, suffering an uncharacteristic fall on the balance beam, it was up to McAvoy to come through in the clutch. After suffering a fall on beam at the Big Ten Championships, McAvoy was destined to come through. In fact, with only a slight wobble on her mount, McAvoy pulled off a great performance that earned her a 9.850, the second-highest score Penn State posted in the event. Freshman Meredith Hoover earned a 9.900 to place ahead of McAvoy.

"I am very proud of [McAvoy]," Shephard said. "She turned it around and did well."

McAvoy also shined on the uneven bars. Her 9.875 was good enough to earn a fifth-place finish in the event.

She also posted a 9.900 on the floor exercise and finished the night with a 9.800 on vault.

"McAvoy was solid all day," Penn State assistant women's gymnastics coach William Lorenz said. "She was mentally there for us and she did great."

McAvoy's top all-around performance on the team earned her a spot in the all-around competition at the NCAA Championships April 24-26 in Nebraska.

"I am excited, but at the same time I feel that if I could give this up to have everyone come, I would do it for sure," McAvoy said. "It is such a team sport the whole time and to go [to the national championships] without the whole team, honestly it sucks."

Besides McAvoy, Rowland will also be making the trip to Nebraska to compete in the floor exercise and the vault. She won the vault by posting a 9.950 and tied for first on floor with Iowa State's Erin Dethloff and Michigan's Calli Ryals.

Shephard said that after Rowland suffered the fall on beam, she did a great job of turning it around.

"She did a great job not letting it affect her," he said.

Even though McAvoy and Rowland have two more weeks left in their collegiate gymnastics careers, the team as a whole is finished competing for the season.

"When it was all over, it was sad because we are done as a team," McAvoy said. "All the lifting, the sprinting, the conditioning, and all that stuff is over."