Gymnasts want the seed

The Ivy championship has been won, an ECAC tournament berth is assured, but the Penn gymnastics season is not over. Thanks to winter snowstorms, Penn (4-2) will be traveling to compete at Rutgers tonight. Coming off a week's vacation, the Quakers are looking forward to getting back into competition. The athletes believe the time off will improve the team's performance. Coach Tom Kovic, however, sees the vacation as a double-edged sword. "The week's vacation was great for us," junior Staci Standen said. "The week before Ivies, we were really tired. The week off has really refreshed us." "The time off is certainly a factor," Kovic said. "On one hand, the team has been away for a week vacationing, and deservedly so. On the other, they haven't been in training mode." When the meet was originally scheduled for February 12, it was to be extra midseason practice. Now it is vital to Penn's placement in the ECAC tournament. With the first four qualifying positions already clinched, Penn is competing with three other squads -- Pitt, Vermont and Ivy-rival Yale -- for the final three spots in the tournament. Yesterday, the Quakers learned Pitt has been mathematically eliminated. Penn is definitely in. This will be the first time Penn qualifies for the ECAC championship as a team. Despite this milestone, the season is far from over. Seeding at the tournament is extremely important. Higher-ranked schools will start with a bye. They get to compete in the final rotation and control their own destinies. "We are looking to optimize our seeding at the ECAC championships," Kovic said. Ivy League rivalries are also playing a role in the Quakers' determination. Yale has also qualified for this prestigious meet, and Penn wants to have a higher seed than the Elis. "We want to be ahead of Yale going into ECACs, and we want to beat them at ECACs," Kovic said. "However, we are by no means looking past the meet at Rutgers." The seeding gives tonight's meet against Rutgers new importance. Each additional high score will help the Quakers in their quest to achieve the best overall position. "This meet is going to help us qualify for ECACs with a better seed," senior co-captain Mona Nedjar said. "It's going to determine whether we're fifth or sixth. Psychologically, it's important for us to go in ahead of some other teams." Traditionally, Penn and Rutgers are very evenly matched. The Quakers beat the 11th-ranked Scarlet Knights by one point last season. "It's important to go in and have a good performance to get back into competing," junior Monique Burton said. "It's our last chance to perfect everything before ECACs." While the meet will not be an easy one, the Quakers do not expect much trouble from the Scarlet Knights. "It's always very close and it usually comes down to the last event," Standen said. "But I'm confident that we'll come out ahead."