Although the Penn State women's gymnastics team bounced back after a sluggish start in its meet against Alabama on Friday night, the Lions' effort wasn't enough to clinch the season opener.

In front of rather large crowd of 8,065, Penn State (0-1) succumbed to No. 2 Alabama 197.125 to 194.600. Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard and the players agreed that there is a lot of room for improvement, but the squad's performance overall was pleasing.

"It was a good start because it was an eye opener," junior Lisa Clark said. "It was nice to see how well we can do and what our potential is."

Despite sophomore Michelle Ilg's team-high 9.850, Penn State opened competition with a 47.925 on the bars, its lowest score of all four events.

Penn State scored a 48.650 on the vault after Clark turned in a team-high 9.775 to close out competition in the event. The Lions performed fairly well in the third rotation with sophomore Meredith Hoover adding a team-high 9.850 to the squad's 48.900 on the floor exercise.

Heading into the last rotation and trailing Alabama 147.800 - 145.475, Penn State posted its best performance on the night with a 49.125 on the beam. However, Alabama's 49.150 was enough to get victory for the Tide.

Individually, Shephard was most impressed with Hoover's beam and floor exercise and was also happy with the beam performances of freshmen Stephanie Sullivan and Genavieve Shingle. He was also impressed with freshman Ashley Mehrer's vault and floor routines.

However, it was Clark's 38.325 that earned her second place behind the Tide's Jeana Rice, who claimed the all-around title with a 39.600. Considering Friday night's meet was the transfer's first in a year and a half, Shephard was pleased with Clark's performance but knows she is capable producing smoother routines.