Tomorrow night in Rec Hall, the Penn State women's gymnastics team will try and return to its winning ways when it hosts the University of Minnesota in a double dual meet at 7 p.m.

The Nittany Lions (5-3) are coming off a disappointing weekend, which saw them place third in a four-team tournament at the University of Missouri. The team, which felt that it was the favorite heading into the tournament, was once again plagued by its performance on the uneven bars. Mental and physical lapses on the bars have been major problems for the Lions this year, with their lowest even score in each meet coming off the uneven bars.

"I think we'll be a lot better this weekend," Penn State women's gymnastics assistant coach Bill Lorenz said. "We've been working hard all week. We're looking real solid."

Tomorrow's meet will bring in the first Big Ten opponent of the year for the Lions. Minnesota (2-5) has had a disappointing 2004 season, with its only true win coming last weekend against a lineup of much smaller, less competitive Div. II and III schools.

However, Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard is not looking past the Gophers.

"They're a solid, Big Ten team," he said. "There's no reason we should look past them, and I don't think we will. We're going to focus on our routines and try to do the best we can. If we do that, I think we'll come out on top."

Tomorrow's meet will be the first televised one of the season for the Lions. Live action from Rec Hall can be seen locally on WPSX.

-- By Tom Loughner