Confidence is what holds a team together, and at the moment, the No. 16 Penn State women's gymnastics team is lacking in that department.

In its final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships, the Nittany Lions will travel to Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. tomorrow to take on the Panthers at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Lions are coming off their worst outing all season after scoring a 193.2 in Saturday's meet against No. 3 Florida and No. 8 LSU.

Low scores caused by falls and mistakes added to the pressure of competing against two top-10 teams. To boost confidence, the team had its hardest week of practice yet and stressed the team rather than the individual.

"We've really worked hard and pushed ourselves," senior Meredith Hoover said. "We've done a lot of team plans on bars and beam to emphasize consistency throughout the whole lineup, and I think that's shown us that we can work harder that we have been."

On Monday and Tuesday, the Lions focused on the uneven bars and the balance beam, two areas that continue to affect their all around score. Penn State women's gymnastics coach Steve Shephard said they played a game called six-for-six where the whole team has to hit its routine twice in a row.

"We are trying just to put the pressure on and build their confidence that they can hit under pressure and try to simulate a competitive situation," Shephard said.

"We are just trying to think practices are like a meet so when they are in a meet they think it is a practice."

Hoover and fellow seniors Jennifer Orlando and Lisa Clark have been supporting the team all season with their consistent scores.

This week, Hoover said she has been practicing on her floor endurance, Clark has been working on her bar routine and Orlando has been building her personal confidence.

"I've just sat back and looked at my past few meets and I concentrated on fixing my mistakes so when it comes to the meet, I'm 100 percent confident and I know that I can hit all my routines," Orlando said.

The Panthers shouldn't be too much of a problem for the Lions tomorrow, but that does not mean they can be overlooked. This meet is crucial in boosting the Lions' regional qualifying average, which will put them in better position when the championship season comes around.