The story of the prodigal son returning home is well known -- or perhaps in this case, the return of the prodigal daughter.

Carey Fagan, head coach of the No. 18 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, will return to her alma mater this Saturday night, as she leads her team into battle against the No. 16 ranked Penn State women's gymnastics team.

Fagan, a member of the Penn State gymnastics team from 1995-1998, was a captain during her senior year, and led the team to four consecutive NCAA Northeast Regional championships.

Despite her new allegiance to the scarlet and gray, Fagan does not forget where she came from.

"I have such fond memories from Penn State," Fagan said. "Walking in to Rec Hall, I still get the same butterflies that I did as an athlete there."

Penn State coach Steve Shephard, who was Fagan's coach at Penn State, applauds his former students' efforts at her new post.

"I'm very proud of her, seeing how far she's come in the coaching ranks, and how well she's doing with her team," Shephard said.

Both teams are coming off of respective season high team scores their last time out. The Lions are on a five-meet winning streak, and the Buckeyes are ranked second in the Big Ten Conference behind only the Nittany Lions.

Saturday's meet is a co-ed dual meet, with both the men's and women's teams from both universities competing at Rec Hall. The meet is also being televised live on WPSU, and later being re-broadcasted nationally on CSTV.

Junior Lindsay Borkan looks at the added coverage as a welcomed challenge rather than a possible distraction.

"All of us gymnasts are really excited because we're finally getting to where we want to be," Borkan said. "This is going to be a good chance to show everyone out there who we haven't met, what we're capable of."

Saturday's meet will mark the last time the Lions will step onto the floor of Rec Hall for the next three meets. On the slate for the squad are road trips to Maryland, Louisiana State, and Arizona.

Shephard believes that his gymnasts need stick to the basics, and do what they do in practice all week long.

"Our focus right now is on maximizing each athlete's performance," Shephard said. "If we can do that, the scores will come."

In a battle between the two top teams in the Big Ten, the team that maintains focus amongst all the possible distractions will gave a valuable advantage as the season inches closer to the Big Ten Championships.

"She has a solid team this year and it's going to be a tough contest, Shephard said. "We're not taking them for granted at all."

Coach Shephard expects the former Penn State athlete to have her team ready to go when the lights come on.

"This is the best OSU team that we have taken to Happy Valley in a number of years, so I think anything can happen," Fagan said.