The Penn State men's gymnastics team went into this weekend's Big Ten Championship at Michigan with a slight chip on its shoulder, but eyes wide open.

The Nittany Lions performed well despite star athlete Luis Vargas injury that forced him to compete at half strength. Penn State took fourth place with 220.5 points missing first place by only four points and falling to Ohio State, Illinois, and Michigan, who finished in that order.

While the team was going into the pit with a slight disadvantage, Penn State wasn't walking blindly into the Wolverine's den.

The Lions had faced each of the top three teams earlier in the season, but walked away with only one win, the upset over then-No. 4 Michigan.

"It was good to have some sort of knowledge going into the meet [of what the other teams would be like]," freshman Derek Helsby said.

The team was prepared to handle Vargas' injury and possible absence, having competed against Ohio State earlier this season without Vargas, while he was at the American Cup competition representing his native Puerto Rico.

"He probably would have helped out on parallel and high bar," team captain Steve Tobin said.

While the team left the mat with a less-than-desired outcome, it had many positive performances.

Freshman Santiago Lopez took second on the vault with a 9.475, and Vargas, despite his injured thumb, took seventh.

Both Ludwig Kern and Tobin took sixth on the high bar and parallel bars, respectively.

Justin Miklos also took sixth on the pommel horse.

Helsby took seventh in the all-around competition, finishing with a 53.675.

Not only was the championship meet a repeat of the regular season, with teams and with missing players, but Penn State is hopeful that the postseason continues to play out similar to last year.

The Lions finished second to Illinois last year at Big Tens and then took first at the national championship meet.

"If you are in the gym and you make 10 out of 10 routines, you're going to be a lot more confident in competition," Tobin said.

"Do your skills in certain events, and build confidence. Confidence is a large part of it. At meets you sit around and watch other teams, which makes you more negative. You have to try not to pay attention and to focus on you and your team."

Helsby agreed with Tobin.

"We just have to hit routines and build confidence," Helsby said. "We know what to do."

The next event for Penn State is the NCAA qualifier, slated for April 7 at West Point, N.Y.

West Point will also serve as the site of the NCAA team championships, scheduled for April 8.