Despite winning its last two competitions, Penn State looked to improve on its individual problems this week in practice. But it isn't the bars, the vault, or even the beam that senior captain Kate Stopper says is the women's gymnastics team's biggest problem. It's confidence.

The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions will test that confidence this Sunday when they travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to take on West Virginia (2-2) and Ball State (2-10).

To help pick up the team's confidence level, Penn State coach Steve Shephard instituted a new rule in practice. If a Penn State gymnast says something negative about herself or her gymnastics, she has to climb the rope.

"If you make a face you wouldn't normally make in a meet, you're going to climb that rope," Shephard said.

The "rope rule" appears to be working, as the Lions are confident going into West Virginia this weekend.

"I don't think we have to worry about coming out with a win," Stopper said. "That's definitely going to happen.

"When we're not worried about if we are going to lose, that is when we tend to have fun. That's what happened with us against Maryland. We knew that we could beat them and it was just like, 'It's time to have fun.' "

Besides working on boosting their confidence, the Lions also have made some minor changes in practice, including cutting out the intersquad scrimmage, a staple in practice on Thursdays for the past two weeks.

"We kind of resorted back to the way practice used to be," Stopper said.

The Lions may be without Kristal Uzelac for the second consecutive competition. The freshman, who is ailing from a sprained knee, is awaiting word from her doctor on her status. If she can't go, Penn State will field the same lineup as in last week's meet. If Uzelac is cleared to compete, she will see limited action, competing only on the bars.

Last week without Uzelac competing, the Lions defeated Cornell, Missouri and New Hampshire. However, their scores were significantly lower than the prior week's season-high performance against Maryland.

Penn State will be competing with Ball State for the first time in the schools' women's gymnastics history.

The Lions are familiar opponents with West Virginia, though. Penn State leads the series with the Mountaineers 23-4, including a victory last January at Rec Hall.