As soon as the Penn State men's gymnastics team's meet against Ohio State ended, it knew one thing for certain. Practice would be at 2:30 that Monday in the White Building as usual.

The No. 6 Nittany Lions (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) headed back into the practice gym to get ready to compete at 7 tomorrow night in Rec Hall against William & Mary.

The Lions have faced two top-five teams in the last two weeks, and this weekend they don't have it any easier.

The Tribe is currently ranked No. 12 and is coming off of a weekend two weeks ago when they scored the highest score of the season for the team.

But the Lions have one thing that they unanimously have agreed upon: it's good to be home.

"Being home is an experience," captain Chad Buczek said earlier in the season. "When you come to Rec Hall as a collegiate athlete and you have thousands of fans around you cheering for you."

Tomorrow night Penn State will be celebrating the career of famed coach Gene Wettstone as well as Buczek as it is his last home meet of his collegiate career.

As the lone senior on the team, Buczek will be standing center stage, a place he has enjoyed all season, especially on the floor exercise.

He recently had his best score on the vault this season with a 9.400 and has been an example for the team in every event.

"I enjoy taking that stand, that upper role," Buczek said earlier in the season. "I kind of like setting the example."

Buczek still feels the same way about his role and is a leader at the meet as well as practice.

Usually the first one to arrive and the last to leave, Buczek knew right away after last week's loss that there was no reason to panic.

The Lions fell numerous times throughout the meet, costing them the victory.

After the meet, Penn State coach Randy Jepson relayed to his team that it wasn't a defeat, but a sign that it needed to improve.

"We just need to get back to practice," Jepson said after the meet. "There is no real way to fix things besides keeping our confidence and practicing."

The Lions practiced at 2:30 like they have all year and did the same things they had been doing after wins.

Jepson felt that even in the loss, the meet was still a stepping stone that the Lions had to take to get ready for National Championships next month.

The last time the Lions competed at home, they won by a margin of .05 against Nebraska at the Bryce Jordan Center and are eager to compete at Rec Hall for the last time this year.

Next week the team will travel to compete against top-10 opponent California in the team's last meet before the Big Ten Championships later this month.

Jepson hopes that the next two matches and the team's practices have the squad ready for the bigger events later on.

"We practice to get ready for the finals," Buczek said earlier in the season. "We train our bodies so we can last two days later on."