The countdown is officially underway-two weeks and counting until the Big Ten championships and the start of the post-season frenzy.

For the No. 4 Penn State men's gymnastics team, each meet until then provides an opportunity to gain some valuable experience before the pressure really sinks in. Each meet also helps them to add skills to routines in the hopes of gaining precious tenths of a point that could make all the difference in a championship meet.

With this mentality, the squad will face two top ten opponents over spring break, beginning with No. 10 Stanford tomorrow night in Burnham Pavilion.

While the Nittany Lions currently lead the series with the Cardinals, 3-1, a win is in no way guaranteed for the Lions.

The Cardinals boast senior Dan Gill in their lineup, who is currently ranked in the top ten nationally in the all-around and is the 2002 NCAA Vault Champion.

However, with a top four national ranking on the vault, the Lions appear ready to defend their prowess on this apparatus.

"We have a very strong vaulting team," Penn State men's gymnastics head coach Randy Jepson said.

"We have some solid vaults and just need to work on sticking them. Repetition is the key with vaulting, and it is all about having confidence in the air and learning to open the body at the right time."

Following their meeting with Stanford, the Lions will return home and prepare for their March 13 matchup with the No. 9 Army Black Knights in Rec Hall.

While the Lions have already faced the Knights several times this season, this meet will have several special implications-first and foremost being Senior Night and a chance to honor three graduating gymnasts-Zach Roeder, Kevin Tan and Duke Van Vleet for their contributions to the program.

Tan will also take center stage on his specialty--the still-rings-- when he faces off with Army's Brian Yee, who is currently ranked second behind Tan in the country on the apparatus and remains Tan's greatest opponent to a second rings national championship.

Above all, the Lions' greatest challenge remains finding a balance between competing gravity-defying skills and dealing with excitement for the upcoming Big Ten Championships-something that comes down to lots of practice and muscle memory.

"We practice so much that when it comes down to meet time we rely solely on our muscle memory and don't let anything else affect us," sophomore Chad Buczek said. "You try to turn your brain off when you compete, especially on some of the quick routines like vault or parallel bars. On floor, the routine lasts a bit longer, so you have to think your way through finding a way to stay in bounds and trying to show some style for the judges, but the muscle memory is still there."

-- By Kim Meyer