With snow flurries predicted for Friday and Saturday in the south, it is no wonder the Alabama gymnastics team decided to head north to avoid the cold. Ironically, the weather forecast for State College is rain with maybe light snow. With this in mind, the #6 Nittany Lions are hoping to freeze out the #2 Crimson Tide at home. As a team, Penn State has already put up big numbers this season and beaten some big teams along the way (UCLA). The Lady Lions would love nothing better than to add Bama to their list of early-season conquests. PSU scored their season high against SEC foe Florida (196.75-193.50) back in January. In vaulting, PSU is ranked #3 to BamaÆs #4. Look for senior Missy Leopoldus and sophomores Gemma Cuff (British import) and Ellen Casey to score well. Sophomore Heather Duggan scored a season high against Florida with a 9.90. Freshman Nicole Bongiovanni and junior Nikki Smith will add depth to this event also. Leopoldus has already added her name to the PSU record book by scoring a 10.0 on beam, the first 10.0 on an event in school history for the Lions. Bongiovanni, Cuff and Smith will see action on the bars while sophomore Maria Taylor will challenge the Tide on beam. With a #8 team ranking on floor, expect to see some high valued tumbling from PSU. Watch for Leopoldus, Bongiovanni, Smith, and Cuff to put pressure on Bama. In all-around competition, Leopoldus has hit for a season high of 39.575 and is ranked #9 in the country. Penn State may also send Cuff and Smith in the all-around . The Lions will be without senior Janae Whittaker, who was lost for the season back in January (knee injury). Penn State is coming off a victory against Illinois and moving the competition to the Bryce Jordan Center in anticipation of a large crowd for the visiting Crimson Tide. Coach Sarah Patterson reported during this weekÆs radio talk shows that she plans on putting her strongest line-up against Penn State but will add new faces to SundayÆs meet with Umass in order to rest some of the seasoned veterans. Look for Gwen Spidle, Andree Pickens and Robin Hawkins to go all-around against PSU. On vault, Dara Stewart, Raegan Tomasek and Whitney Morgan will compete, and perhaps Alexa Martinez, if healthy. Look for the #1 ranked Tide on bars to go with their strongest line-up, with Natalie Barrington, Dara Stewart, Andree Pickens, Gwen Spidle and Robin Hawkins leading the charge. On beam, Bama moved up to #3 this week nationally, where they will not only need to go 6 for 6, but garner big scores from Lissy Smith, Raegan Tomasek, Mandy Chapman, Andree Pickens, Robin Hawkins, Gwen Spidle and Alexa Martinez at the same time. Alabama holds the top spot in the nation on floor exercise and will need to show excellent dance and tumbling to impress the judges towards higher scores. Alexa MartinezÆs return on this event could be a crucial factor in the eventual outcome of the meet. Pooh BearÆs assistants will be along for the ride and expect to provide detailed post-meet analyses following both meets. Let It Roll, Let It Roll, Let It Roll.....Tide!