Penn State is coming to Alabama this Saturday, with hopes of winning again this year. The Nittany Lions won at home with a close score of 197.025 - 196.825 last year. They will be coming without their school record holding Seniors from last season, Ellen Casey and Missy Leopoldus. They are a young team this year with 7 of their 16 members being Freshman. As some of these Freshman gain more collegiate experience they will become reliable forces for Penn State.

The Nittany Lions have two of their international gymnasts competing All Around. Junior Gemma Cuff hails from Liecestershire UK, and Freshman Katie Rowland hails from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada.

Both Cuff and Rowland have been strong this year on the vault for Penn State, usually scoring above 9.8. Senior Heather Duggan has also shown her abilities on this event, but needs to stay clean in order to score well.

On the Uneven Bars, Senior Nikki Smith came out strong with a 9.9 at the start of the season, and again a few weeks ago. She is having some difficulty in being consistent in hitting her routines. Junior Maria Taylor, and Sophomore Jennifer Drilling have shown their talents on this event, along with Cuff and Rowland.

Senior Ashley Wilson has been a reliable competitor on the Balance Beam for the Nittany Lions. Smith's and Taylor's talents continue to shine here, again consistency has been a problem for Smith on the beam, but she did had a high score of 9.975 earlier in the season. Cuff and Rowland have had a few rough nights on this event, but their routines are very competitive.

Fans will not want to miss Rowland's floor routine. Reports offer high praise for her choreography, expression, beautiful lines and difficulty on this event. Penn State has many talented gymnasts competing on the floor. Watch for Duggan, Smith, Wilson, Cuff, and Freshman Lisa Campagnolo.

Penn State, ranked 17th , got a boost of confidence this past weekend after their win against 8th ranked Stanford, scoring a season high of 196.1. Penn State has some very capable gymnasts who are just now starting to hit their stride. Clean performances from both Penn State and Alabama could result in a close match up and will be a very exciting evening of gymnastics.