The Penn State women's gymnastics team's quest to win its first Big Ten Championship fell just short Saturday night.

A slim .125 points was all that separated the Nittany Lions from wearing their first crown and ending Michigan's Big Ten championship dynasty.

Despite a strong performance, the Lions could not beat Michigan, which added a seventh straight Big Ten championship to its resume.

Penn State finished second for the second straight year with a final score of 196.125.

"We were encouraged by our score, but it's a bitter pill to swallow because it felt like we were right there," Penn State coach Steve Shephard said.

"To get so close and lose by so little is very tough. It's frustrating, but encouraging to know that we can compete with any team in the country."

The competition was tight the whole way through.

Entering the last rotation, Penn State trailed Michigan by .325 points.

The Lions competed on the beam while the Wolverines ended the night on the floor.

Penn State's 49.125 on the beam, although very impressive, was not strong enough to erase the deficit.

"The beam was our best event," Shephard said. "We did very good handling the pressure."

By the end of the night, Penn State totaled three individual titles, the most it has won since 1992.

Kate Stopper started the night for the Lions by finishing in a first-place tie on the floor exercise with a score of 9.850.

The senior captain also finished eighth on the beam (9.800) later on in the night.

The other two individual crowns belonged to Kristal Uzelac, whose career-high scores on the uneven bars (9.925) and the beam (9.950) were strong enough to win the events.

The freshman finished second in the all-around competition with a 39.425, another career high in her first conference championship meet.

"Kristal looked tremendous," Shephard said.

"She was solid everywhere and made no mistakes."

The all-around competition had a strong Penn State influence, with all three Lion gymnasts finishing in the top six.

Beside Uzelac, Lisa Clark placed fourth (39.300) and Meredith Hoover finished in sixth (39.025).

"They did really well," Shephard said.

"We didn't count a fall anywhere. It was a gutsy performance."

Although they didn't come out on top, the Lions helped their cause for the NCAA Regional Championship.

The 196.125 will boost their regional qualifying score and may improve their tournament seeding, which the Lions will learn today.

The regional championship is set to take place on April 9 at a site to be announced.

Regionals set the stage for the NCAA championship meet.

That event starts on April 21. It is scheduled to take place at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.