Frosh returns to lead gymnastics

The ups and downs of Christy Green's freshman season have mirrored that of the Penn gymnastics team as a whole. Green racked up some impressive finishes early in the season before being sidelined for three weeks with a foot injury. But now, she's back in the lineup just in time to compete in Saturday's ECAC Championships at Cornell. Green, a native of Norwich, Conn., was looked upon to make an immediate contribution as a freshman because of several injuries to her teammates. Described by Penn coach Tom Kovic as someone who "leads by example" and "does her own thing," the newcomer has done exactly that for the Quakers this season. Green was an accomplished gymnast before college, finishing her high school career with a Connecticut state vaulting championship and a second-place finish in the all-around. As a high school junior, she was a state and regional vaulting champion as well as a national qualifier. According to Kovic, Green was recruited out of high school by a number of Ivy League programs, but ended up choosing Penn. "It was a matter of staying on top of Christy," Kovic said. "I visited her at her gym, and I had dinner with her family at her home. It was a good match [for both sides]." Green is one of six Penn freshmen on the team this year. Leading the way are Green and standout frosh Anna Wilson. Wilson has singlehandedly claimed nearly every Penn gymnastics record. The only record Wilson has not garnered this season is in the balance beam. Tricia Chan, Netta Gurari, Cassandra Pare and Sarena Syma round out Penn's freshman class. While all of these girls bring something special to the team, Green brings a strong desire to succeed. "Her coming to Penn brings such a positive attitude and a joyous attitude to the gym," Kovic said. Green's performances this season add further weight to her coach's words. She had quite an impressive collegiate debut on January 20. In Penn's record-setting victory over Cornell, Green finished second in the vault with a 9.625. And she also took the top spot in the uneven bars with a 9.700. In a home meet against Yale two weeks later, Green pulled in a third-place finish in the floor exercise with a 9.625. The frosh continued her myriad of top-three finishes against Brown, taking second in the vault and third in the bars and floor. Against Temple, she finished second on the uneven bars and third on the floor. After enjoying her share of success early on, however, Green could not escape the injuries that plagued her teammates. She suffered a mid-foot sprain on the floor exercise in a February meet against Ursinus -- although she finished second in both the vault and the bars at the meet -- and has only recently worked her way back into the lineup. "Tricia [Chan] and I both came back into the lineup late in the season," Green said. "We have to push through and compete anyway." Three weeks after suffering the injury, Green returned and took first place on the uneven bars against West Chester, a sign that her season is finally back on track. "Christy's had a rough year," Kovic said. "She's had a real up-and-down season, and now she's on the up side." Even though she would like to compete in more events, Green has been limited to the bars and the vault so that she does not come back prematurely and risk a more serious injury. Green will no doubt make even more contributions to the Quakers in the next few years as she gets more competitive experience under her belt. "Christy is one of the most talented recruits that I've brought to Penn in my 14 years of coaching here," Kovic said. "She's an absolute pleasure to coach."

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